Rebirth of a Shadow
by OperationJonny
Summary: Dark Link, the polarity of Link, The Hero of time, fakes his death at the Water Temple and manages to cheat his way out of his destiny of pointless existence. Now with this chance at life, what opputunities will he grasp? What is his true purpose?
1. Cheat Your Destiny

**Rebirth of a Shadow**

Formerly titled; "When You Give Shadow Life"

**By: OperationJonny**

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Mandated Disclaimer; I don't own LoZ period. Just the ideas I place into crafting this story, and the original characters involved.

**Authors Note: This is a rewrite of my first and favorite well thought out story. For those of you who're reading this after getting an alert that an old completed story was updated, this is the same story, with additions and fixes to grammar, spelling, and patches to plot holes. For those who're reading this for the first time, I hope you enjoy it. It'll be updated on weekdays daily. I'll try to update during my busy weekends.**

**Another Author's Note: IMPORTANT! Since this is a rewrite, and I never deleted the story itself, but merely deleted and replaced the chapters,older readers of this story who submitted signed reviews won't be able to send in another signed review. So, just sign out and review. Sorry for the inconvenience. **

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_I'll... kill him..._he muttered to himself in a dark, evil tone, as a cloud of hot breath emanated from his mouth. He sat, knees pressed to his chest, at the base of a dead tree, which reflected him perfectly.

Lonely, withered... soulless.

He sifted through his conscious... and nothing more than images of killing _him _flowed through his mind. He had never known what happiness, joy, any pleasant feeling. Feelings? All he could feel was anger, rage, fury, hatred, pain and disdain.

All he knew, was why he was in this room, filled with water, and his name. Everything else had faded away as nothingness pervaded his mind and numbed it endlessly, eating away at anything in his mind.

Every day, he reminded himself of his purpose.

_I exist solely... to kill the Hero of Time... I am... Dark Link... _He said aloud as Ganondorf's voice echoed those words in his mind. He knew that he had been created for that sole purpose, on Link's birth...

Ganondorf foresaw his end at the hands of a boy in green as a prophet unveiled to him. He then decided to use his foul magics, when he sensed that the boy's power was beginning to grow and created him... Dark Link.

He lifted his head from between his knees and peered down into the water. He absolutely _hated _himself. He looked exactly like _him_, the Hero. The reason why he was forced into this slavery and to waste years of his life in this illusion of a room... his damnation.

Looking down into the mirrorlike water, he saw his reflection. Exactly the same as Link's, the picturesque handsome and angular face, with remarkable eyes. But Dark Link was different... he was borne of foul magic, and was filled with the run off of the evils that Link had cast off during his quest.

He was everything that Link wasn't. Every moral, every belief he opposed, every action he considered sinful... was Dark Link's pleasure. Dark Link's bloodstained eyes twinkled with a dull glow of anger as he ran a hand over his smooth tan skin, eventually grasping a lock of his ashen gray-white locks that mimicked Link's.

He let his leather gauntleted hand drop as he pressed his chin to his chest, staring at his black tunic, at the clothe wove and spun of evil thoughts and darkness. Such garb was evil and would cause fear in those who approached one wearing such clothes. Dark Link clutched his chest, tightly, creasing the breast of his tunic as he growled at himself, wishing he could pry his own heart from his chest.

Suddenly, Dark Link's long ears twitched slightly, picking up the sound of movement from the next room over. He was here... it was time... the incessant waiting would soon be at an end!

Dark walked silently backwards, to his tree where his dark replica of the Master Sword sat stabbed into the tree trunk, with his shield leaned against it. The Anti-Master Sword, he called it to himself. Its hilt and handle were carved of a black stone, the blade a dull gray, looking viciously sharp. Above the handleguard was not where a Triforce was inscribed, but a single downwards black triangle lay, trimmed in crimson.

He pulled it from the tree, twirling it effortlessly and holding it to his side. He then lifted up his light steel shield, the steel a dull gray like his sword, and hair, but the blue where it would've been on this Hylian Shield was black, and the gold was crimson, the eagle a dragon of darkness and the Triforce in the center black and outlined in red.

_Hah hah hahahah... _He laughed insidiously as his veins ached in his wrists as he were squeezing the handle and shield strap with insane tightness. Bloodlust was pumping freely through his veins and his vision was nearly clouded with crimson, he was so anxious to do battle with his nemesis. His reason why he had been put here, to be tortured with years of searing nothingness. Shadow washed over him and he faded away, and out of sight.

Link strode into the room, wet and looking unhappy in his cheery blue tunic. "I. Hate. This. Place." He said simply as he sloshed through this peculiar room while dragging his feet. As he walked towards the other side, he found the dark, misshapen tree.

Link looked at it worriedly, not liking the concept of this eerie room of which he couldn't see the boundaries. Dark Link began raising his blade in anticipation of preemptively striking, and dealing a devastating blow. Just as he were to swing his weapon, Link ran away as fear overcame him apparently.

He ran panicked in one direction, until he came to a barred door. "Damn!" He exclaimed, pulling on the bars, and Navi flew out of his hat. "You can't move that by yourself... there must be a switch around somewhere..." She said and Link rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever... shut up, and get back in my hat..." He said as he shoved her back into it, while she dinged in dissent.

He walked back past the tree and he thought he saw a shade stir besides it. "What's wrong with this temple?" Link muttered with an edge of fear, as he ran back to the door he had came through previously. As he neared it though, bars slammed down quickly and cruelly, caging Link. He violently shook the bars like he did with the other door, but to no avail.

He ran towards the only landmark in this room and once he got there, he was startled to see the black silhouette of a person who held a sword and shield. The shadow was non moving but seemed to be breathing, and more frighteningly, alive.

He inched closer, and looked intently at this shade. Once he did, from nowhere a chorus of dramatic and tense music erupted from the mist. Abruptly, the dark silhouette lunged at Link who did a backflip, narrowly avoiding a thrust from this shadow. "What the hell!? An attacking shadow?? And where did that music come from?!" He asked himself aloud, as he dodged another slash from the undefined black figure.

Link drew his sword and shield, and stared at this black creature, who's eyes were glowing red, as was his wide grin. "What... are you?" He asked and the blackened dark figure laughed.

"I'm you." He said as the darkness slid off of him like water against glass, revealing his true image. Link was taken aback and stepped backwards reproachfully in the face of this strange monster. Never had he fought a creature that seemed to be... intelligent. This one could talk, which was unheard of for monsters. What was twice as unsettling... was his visage. He looked exactly like an evil replica of Link himself.

Dark Link took pleasure in his dismay and confusion. "What, fairy-boy? Scared?" He asked tauntingly, poking Link's young and easily injured ego. "Am NOT!" Link yelled as he charged at Dark with a series of diagonal slashes, and then a volley of fast paced thrusts.

Dark parried the slashes easily, almost effortlessly. As the thrusts threatened to pierce his chest, he merely held up his shield, repelling the danger. "Is that all you have?" Dark asked gleefully. This was such fun. He was fighting with THE Hero. The one to kill Ganondorf.

He remembered why he was to kill Link, besides to serve Ganondorf's interests. It would ensure his freedom from this damned place. Dark Link backflipped from one strike and deflected another with his shield, slapping aside another stroke of Link's blade.

"I expected more of the Hero of Time." Dark Link said with a scoff. Link was panting. "Why don't you quit running, and fight me like a man!" Link exclaimed, trying to wound Dark's esteem. Dark smiled sweetly, in a twisted way. "Because if I were to, the fun would end so quickly. I've waited too long for this, Brother." He said, grinning wildly as he held his Anti-Master Sword out to his side, ready to charge.

As he rushed Link, he quickly switched his weapons from sword and shield to a large top-heavy looking hammer. Dark's blood pumped with new vigor. A new challenge! He had been specifically trained in swordplay so he might best Link, but this new, strange weapon... it made everything different. He had near to no practical knowledge on how to fight such a weapon. He could die.

Such a notion excited Dark.

As he rushed at Link, he swung the weapon at him, and Dark, not expecting the speed of the large hammer, was hit fully in the chest with an unimaginable amount of force. He hadn't expected such strength, either...

Dark, after being lifted off of his feet, landed on his hand, and flipped to his feet nimbly. Such pain... what a rush. Such ecstasy it was to be in front of a life threatening challenge, when the last seven years of his life had been sacrificed to sitting and waiting.

As he felt the throbbing, surging pain in his chest, a thought struck him rather hardly. What if... he were to actually kill the Hero of Time? He was the Goddess' chosen one to kill Ganondorf, and return peace to the land. If he were to actually kill Link... Ganondorf would take over, and he'd be sentenced to a life of toiling under the cruel ruler of Hyrule. Regardless of what he had done for the Dark Master.

So... what if he could cheat the system and break free, without having to die? Could he do such a thing? The enchantment of this room would not break until the life forces of the Hero and of the Damned were detected in the same room. Until one of them died, the enchantment would not break. Could he use his dark magic to pump a poison into his veins, to emulate his death? The enchantment in theory would break, seeing as the enchantment would recognize that he was dead by the hands of the Hero.

It was ingenious... but was Ganondorf's magic flimsy enough to sneak by like this?

It was worth a shot... either he died, or he lived an eternity of being Ganondorf's slave.

He charged at Link again raising his blade to swing, but forcing himself with great intensity to not delve the viciously sharp sword deep into the flesh of the Hero, but to slow down it's descent until the hammer collided with his chest again.

After a while of leaving himself open and taking hits to the chest repeatedly, Link got confident and began brutally assaulting his darker half. Slam, after slam, after slam of the hammer collided into him, sending him progressively backwards.

Eventually, Link grinned as he charged him, throwing his hands towards Dark Link while yelling a phrase. "DIN'S FIRE!" He yelled, and Dark looked nervous. The ball of fiery energy in his hands looked somewhat distressing. His kind, Shadowborns are incredibly resilient to physical damage as they are spirits, but in order to be corporeal in the Realm of the Living, they had to be sustained with powerful magics.

When magic was used against their magic sustained bodies, the magics interfered with one another, causing him intense pain, as the magic used against him could faze him out of this realm and back into the Shadow Realm. Such a fate would be worse then death, to live as an amorphous mass of dark spirits in the Shadow Realm, clawing at one another to gain a physical shape.

Just as a burst of flames filled with the rage of Din herself, he reared his head back as he threw himself backwards whilst uttering a bloodcurdling screech. Quickly, he enacted the spell that would course devilish poison that would entirely shut down his entire body just long enough to fool the enchantment and the Hero. As a final touch before he lost consciousness from the overpowering poison, he used magics to cause an elaborate explosion of flames to consume him.

Link looked satisfied with himself, as a chest appeared in front of him in a surge of light. Opening it, he claimed his prize as the illusion enchantment on the room faded, showing nothing but a small square room composed of slimy bricks. He walked through the next door, and continued on on his adventure.

A handful of minutes passed by as suddenly, Dark was thrusted from the darkness of death, gasping for air as he felt he was given life after dying... like being given breath after choking on a sea of water.

He was on all fours, coughing violently. "I...did it." He said, as he looked around at the true form of the watery prison he had been in for so long. He then walked over towards the door that lead to the exit of this hellhole. He tentatively reached for the knob of the door, slowly turning it.

The door clicked, and it swung open. That was it. It was this easy. He had bide his time, and he was now free. Truly free, not tethered to any cruel fates forced upon him. Dark began running, hurriedly through the temple to get to the exit. He didn't want to be here any longer than he had to be. He finally found the exit, a pool of water leading to the outside where some bright light was emanating from. He jumped into the pool of water, and began swimming through the tunnel, escaping to the outside, which was the bottom of a deep lake. Looking up through the water that distorted his sight, some curious light shone at the surface. Bright, and orange... it felt warm. What was it? Soon, his question would be answered, as he neared the surface of the water.


	2. Welcome to the Unknown

Dark's head burst through the surface of the water, and some strange blinding light cascaded down on him from above. Although it blinded him, it wrapped him in this strange warmth he had never felt. What was this amazing sensation?

He climbed onto the nearby chunk of earth and sat beneath the dead tree that grew on this plot of land, somewhat akin to his dead tree that he had once spent endless days under. But this tree, in this world even felt different from his. The tree he leaned up against, although dead... still felt alive. Dark ran his hands through the grass, a strange and new thing he had never experienced before.

He had all the knowledge of these things but he had never before experienced them. They were such amazing things, these simple pleasures... the amazingly blue sky, the soft hunter green grass swaying in the gentle warm wind and the sun smiling softly down on this blessed land.

So, this was what he had lost out on ever since he had been created and forced into that accursed room. He felt so cheated, to have been kept from such quiet bliss. He sighed. "This is so... nice." He said, simply.

For the first time in his dark and dreary life, he felt something peculiar. He felt... happy? Once he had understood what this feeling was, he noticed a soft, slow thumping in his chest. He placed his hand to his right breast, and he could feel the very soft and slow beating of a long dead heart under his dark clothes.

"HOO! So, you think this is beautiful, huh, child? Then you ought to see the entire world. There's a lot of things for you to see out there, you know." A seemingly disembodied voice said and Dark jumped to his feet, searching for the source of this voice.

Strangely, the voice came from an abnormally large owl who was perched on a branch on the dead tree that Dark had been previously sitting against. "Who the hell are you?" Dark demanded, in a low threatening tone. In response to this question, the owl spun it's head around rapidly, eventually stopping with his eyes on the bottom and scarily enough the upside down features of the owl made it look like he was staring at him through another pair of eyes, but beadier.

Dark cringed. "That's disturbing..." He said as he reached to his back for his sword, so he may leap at and kill this abomination of nature. Instead, he found his hands laid on a long mahogany bow of ornate quality, with a quiver full of arrows on his back as well. Was this an effect of being the second half of the Hero? Did he gain dark counterparts of Link's weapons? Dark wondered, but his murderous intent overrode his curiousity as he nocked an arrow and aimed it for the owl.

In a panic, the owl spun it's head around three more times, screeching; "HOOT, hold up there, DON'T SHOOT!" He said nervously, his head somewhat wobbling on it's rather flexible axis. Dark scowled. "Give me one good reason not to." He demanded, and the owl seemed to smile as he spun his head about a dozen more times, finally landing it on it's proper positioning.

"Because I haven't been locked up in a misty room for years. I know a bit about the lay of the land." He said, and Dark looked at him, with a sideways glare. "How would you know about me? Who are you?" He asked, and the owl hooted four times, and spun his head twice. "Just a wise owl! Would you like the info or not?" He asked shrewdly, and Dark sighed, lowering his weapon.

"Fine, speak quick or I'm eating bird for lunch. So, what have you got to say?" He said and the owl seemed a tad nervous. The owl hooted five times and spun his head three times, stopping it at an upside down diagonal position.

"That you need to go to the ranch north of here." He said while quickly jumping from the branch and flapping his giant wings, enabling him to fly away swiftly and safely. Dark stomped his foot. "Damn it! What kind of stupid advice is that!? I should've just shot him, and ate him." He grumbled, somewhat low-spirited now.

He decided he might as well go north, and hope to find something fairly useful at this ranch. At the very least, he'd find another person. He was interested in what humans besides the Hero of Time looked like... he wondered how their blood ran in comparison... maybe people shrieked in agony differently, he hoped sinisterly.

So, he decided he ought to start running. Shadowborns being made up of magic bear enhanced speed and strength than normal human bodies. This being so, Dark was able to run at the speed of a horse and closed in on his location almost instantly. On the way there, though, he didn't resist a childish urge to stare and gawk at everything he had never seen before, elements which were proliferate all over the fields.

After a short time, there he stood, after going around a large wall, at the front of a large ranch with a billboard that read Lon Lon Ranch.

Walking in, he was immediately greeted by a perky red-headed... thing. Dark didn't quite know what it was. The thing looked like a human, like Link. But... they were shaped different. This human was wearing a long dress, and had her long red hair pulled back out of her face. "Hey... Link? Have you been experimenting with your look? You look really different..." She said and Dark didn't respond. He was busy trying to understand what she was.

At the least, she seemed to be a potential friend of Link's. Dark laughed internally.

This could be a chance for an attack on Link, by injuring and killing one of his close friends by pretending to be him and 'betraying' her. He grinned wickedly. He imagined the serene face of the human before him, face contorted in pain and confusion as he slowly slide his blade into her while he told her that the Link she knew despised her very existence. But he quickly pushed the thought from his mind.

Curiosity now, homicide later. Killing, can ALWAYS come later.

So, he began circling her while she tried talking to him. "Um, can I help you? And who ARE you? You sure aren't Link..." She said, finally understanding the utter difference between them despite the physical resemblance. "No, I'm a little too far gone to help now. And I'm..." And Dark Link paused. What was his name? Did he even have one? All he had ever known being called by Ganondorf was Dark Link. He had never interacted with anyone else until this person. "...Dark." He said, as he continued circling her, after momentarily pausing.

"Nice to meetcha, Dark! I'm Mal-EEEE!" She shrieked, as she slapped down the skirt of her dress, which Dark had curiously lifted and peeked up. She then lifted her other hand and with a closed fist, slammed it down on his head. "You PERVERT!" She shrieked in utter embarrassment as Dark was suddenly brought to the floor by the tremendous force of the fist.

Dark climbed to his feet, gritting his teeth.

Suddenly, a dark voice hissed into his ear.

_Kill her. She had no right to hit you like that. You don't know better. _A masculine voice hissed, and Dark considered it. He ought to kill her... but...

_But what? Just do it. She'd never even see it coming... a swift stroke from your blade... and there goes her pretty little head. I've never liked those damn pretty girls..._ A female voice now hissed into his head. He noticed these two shadows floating around him.

_Let us help... _the male said, and the female joined in with a coo.

_Ooo, yess... it'd be so fun! Spilling her warm blood... have you ever tasted the blood of humans...? It's sooo delightful... _The female's voice said, cackling sharply in Dark's ear as the two shadows began covering his arms, trying to take control them.

_No... _Dark thought, weakly. But he couldn't deny he wanted to kill her... he wanted to kill her before he even met her. He wanted to kill her now... he wanted to shear her skin from her muscle, and her muscles from her bones and run her blood over his face.

But he resisted it, and instead shouted. "What the FUCK was that for!?" He exclaimed, removing his cap and rubbing his head viciously to somehow relieve the pounding pain she had inflicted. He felt the shadows relieve their pressure on his mind, and he felt his heart beating a little faster. How odd this heart of his was... why hadn't he ever felt it before?

"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to lift a girl's skirt!? Were you raised in a cave?!" She asked, and Dark placed his cap back on his head, showing complete indifference as his eye's focus drifted as he tried to smother his murderous intents. "No, I was locked in a misty room for seven years of my life." He said, and she blinked. "What?" She asked, and Dark sighed. "Long story, one I'd rather keep to myself. You wouldn't like me much if I told you." He said, with a sigh.

Mal-EEEE placed her fists on her hips. "Go ahead, try me." She said, defiantly. Dark cocked an eyebrow and smirked. "If you insist..." He said, and he began describing what he was, what he was intended to do, and how he had faked it so he could earn his own freedom and live his own life free of the influence of the Dark Master.

Mal-EEEE looked at him amiably. "Well, good for you! Glad you broke free. Serves Ganondorf right, he took over poor Hyrule castle by force, and killed anyone who resisted... he even almost took over this ranch! Good think Link saved us..." She said, her eyes drifting as a strange look of admiration overcame her features.

As the silence continued, she realized how obvious she was being. "I think it's horrible what he's done to you, even if you are a demon, shadow or a darkling or whatever you said..." She said, trying to recall. Dark looked impatient. "Shadowborn." He said, simply, and she smiled sheepishly, rubbing her head. "Yeah, that one... sorry." She said, with an apologetic smile.

They were still standing, and Dark was still confused, so he decided to relieve himself of his curiosity by prodding Malon's chest with his forefinger. "So, what's a girl? And why do you have those cushions there? Why don't I have them? Do they help you fight?" He asked in an almost cutely naïve way.

Malon, though, didn't enjoy being poked and prodded so carelessly. She slapped his hand, her face becoming red with embarrassment again. "Ok, rule one. No touching!" She nearly shouted, and then she realized what his question was and her jaw dropped. "Wait, did you say, 'what's a girl'?" She queried, and Dark nodded staring at her intently, like a serious-minded student awaiting an answer to his question from his teacher.

"Oh... wow. Well, er... we might as well take a seat... I guess, because you've never had any parents, no one's ever given you the 'talk'. I might as well, so you dont harass some other poor girl out there one day..." She said, with a sigh, sitting with her legs to the side of her when she sat. Dark, out of habit, sat with his knees pressed to his chest, chin on his knee caps.

Malon took a moment to look at him when he did this. At this moment, she saw a poor lonely child in him. He looked like a poor, helpless soul in this sitting position, confused and without a single person in the world. He resembled Link in his stubbornness to ask for help and she could tell by merely looking at his eyes. Dark's eyes were unique, she noted... although they were the color of blood, they bore a strange warmth in them, like a comforting fire.

"Well, let me explain to you what the differences between boys and girls are, and what they're meant to do later in life..." She began, with an exasperated sigh, as Dark looked out at the horses while he listened.

Later...

Dark's eyes were wide, now.

"So... boys are supposed to put that... there...?" He said with a look of disgust appearing on his face. "That's so gross!" He said, in a completely childish tone, making retching noises at the concept.

Malon laughed hysterically. She didn't think it would be wise to tell Dark how much he is like his brother, because she was sure Dark blamed Link for the fact that he was brought into the world with all the pain and anger because of him. But they both had been plucked out of their childhoods and thrown into circumstances they both didn't want... the difference in detail was marginal, but the effect it had on them was the same.

She then noticed Dark staring intently at the horses.

"What are those things?" Dark asked and Malon smiled gently, as if he was a smile child. "Those are horses." She said and looked to them affectionately. "They're some of the most gentle, intelligent and loving creatures on this world." She said, with warmth.

He sat still, chin atop his knees that were pressed against his chest, unspeaking. She could see it in his eyes, but he didn't want to say it. He didn't want to feel like a fool. "I'm going to go pet them, do you want to come with?" She asked, and Dark nodded, standing up quickly, trying to hide a curious smirk.

Once he neared the fence, the horses that approached Malon backed away sharply, their nostrils flaring in fear at Dark. Dark frowned a bit and extended a hand, trying to earn the gentle beast's trust. He was a monster, and they could sense it, they could smell it on him, they could smell his evil. They refused to get close to him, and he sighed. "Whatever, I don't really care about these stupid things, anyways. I just wanted to look at them up close." He said indignantly, kicking a nearby rock.

He looked at the setting sun. "Well, I'm going to go... somewhere now, it's getting late." He said, and Malon stopped him. "Do you have a place to stay?" She asked in a mothering tone. She obviously knew the answer and she stood there authoritatively, fists propped against her hips, her eyes closed, awaiting the answer.

"No..." He said, slowly, wondering why she had asked. She opened her eyes quickly. "We just built an addition to the house, for the three of us who work here, so we don't have to share a single room. While we were adding on to the house, we built a spare guest room for Link in case he needed a place to stay to rest, but he hasn't been by in ages. So busy with his quest of mightiness, that he can't stop to say "Hi!" to his friends..." She said, seeming upset.

"Ah, he's a jerk. He doesn't care about other people." Dark said, in a crude attempt at consoling her. Malon cocked an eyebrow. "And YOU do, Mr. Made-to-Kill?" She said, and Dark sighed. "I could if I wanted to." He in a defiant tone to her. And she tilted her head at him. "But would you?" She asked.

"I am right now, aren't I?" He asked, placing his fists mockingly on his hips, cocking his head with the arrogant little smirk that was present on Malon's face. "Oh, ha ha ha. You got me. Now get inside, Mr. Smart-Ass." She said, and Dark shook his head. He didn't quite like being so chummy with people he'd rather kill, but the concept was sort of growing on him.

Malon watched him walk inside, a strange dulled look in his eyes. He wasn't completely here, in the present. It seemed he was off in a daydream, probably thinking about some way to kill her. She knew he felt such things because she could feel it, every now and then when he looked at her a certain way and those terrible eyes glowed in a threatening way. It put this amazing amount of uncomfortable pressure on her chest and constrained her breathing when he looked at her like that with the look that reminded her he could kill her without second thought at any time.

Or was it something else on her mind that caused that peculiar sensation that made her chest feel heavy and tight...?

Dark found his way to his room, without asking. He preferred not to be dependent on anyone else but himself. He threw his cap carelessly to the ground, caring less about it then he would the life of a person he didn't know. He began pulling off his shirt, when Malon opened the door, and stood in the doorway for a few moments.

When he turned to her, her eyes met his, and then her eyes ran down his chest, and then her face became red at the sight of the muscle-toned body that mimicked the Hero of Time's. "Yeah?" He asked, almost impatiently. She began wringing her hands.

"Link doesn't come by that often... and it gets lonely here, on the ranch, and I don't have many friends..." She said, sheepishly, trying to find the words he wanted to say. Dark raised his eyebrows, waiting for her to say what she wanted. "Malon, spit it out, I want to go to bed, and unless you want to see me strip down naked, spit it out and leave." He said harshly, and Malon's eyes became glassy and her face turned a deeper shade of red.

"Well, would you be my friend? And actually come by and visit more than once every two months?" She asked. Dark stood there for a good minute, confused. Why him? Of all people, she wanted to be friends with the person who had uncontrollable murderous tendencies. And what had he ever done for her? He hadn't done a single thing for her.

After some time, she turned on her bare feet quickly and closed the door quickly. He was left speechless. He seriously didn't understand this whatsoever. He laid down, and tried to sleep, but the question pervaded his attempts to sleep, and clung to him like sticky rain.

"Ugh, that GIRL." He said, aggravated at how she had kept him awake over something so trivial and pointless as friendship. He stopped as he reached her door. This girl had feelings. Dark didn't, apparently... and he had to adjust his own mindset to prevent himself from hurting her feelings. After all, he needed to sleep in her house in the future. How many people would be willing to take in an bloodletting monster like him? He snatched up his hat as he rose from bed, and placed it on his head. It made him feel more secure, for whatever reason.

With a disdained look of pure exasperation, he opened her door. She sat there, in a long violet night gown, and he walked in a few steps. She was faced away from the door, in a mirror, combing her long, gently curled locks. "Just because you don't have manners doesn't mean it'd hurt to learn them. Knock first when entering a lady's room." Dark sighed, impatiently, but obeyed her wishes. He walked backwards, and closed the door.

A second later, there was knocking. Malon smirked to herself. "Who is it?" She asked, just to poke the lion in the eye with a broomstick. There was a largely audible sigh of exasperation from behind the door.

"DARK." He said, in a firm, yet not yelling tone. she could tell by his voice that he was gritting his teeth. He was easily predictable. Just like Link. Another similarity they bore.

"Come in." She said, sweetly. Dark strode in, teeth gritted like Malon had expected. When he saw Malon in the moonlight though, his jaw relaxed. Some strange heat was building up in his chest and traveled down his body like wildfire. He didn't like this strange sensation, it was strange and alien to him. "I'd like to accept your request to be friends." He said, like an automaton.

Malon turned to face him, and once she did, the heat that had built inside him rose to a flare, when he saw the curves and contours of her body. So, this was the hell and havoc that women's bodies play on men's mind, Dark realized. Malon had explained this to him. He wanted to do things he didn't understand, so he raised his face to the ceiling while she spoke.

"Aw, c'mon, say it with feeling!" She said, drawing every last ounce of blood out of him. Dark kept his face to the ceiling. "Fine." He said, and he lowered his face, and suddenly, she saw a heart-wrenching amount of sadness and solitude within his eyes. His face remained stoic, but those huge orbs of eyes portrayed an immense amount of loneliness.

"I'd really like to be friends with you, Malon." He said, and she smiled sadly when she saw his lonely eyes and nodded. "I would too. Welcome to the family, Dark. When you become our friends, you become part of our lives." She said, with a slight smile. She stood up, and strode over to him, and Dark eyes darted from place to place on her body.

_Oh goddesses, I shouldn't be looking, this is disgusting... just kill her and end this sickening show of human emotion._ Part of his mind said.

_Oh but look... those curves... awwwhhhh... don't you just want to smother her?_ Another part of his mind groaned, fawning over Malon's womanly shape that was honed by daily labor.

In the midst of his mind battling itself, she hugged him, and Dark felt the heat all focus in one spot, in his... lower regions. Dark's eyes watered as he resisted the strongest, most compulsive urge he's ever felt in his lifetime.

"Alright, that's great, awesome, friends, family.. a house! Perfect! I'm going to bed!" He said, rather quickly, hugging her back gently and quickly as he ran off in a strange hunched position, as he ran to his bedroom.

Dark was terrified by this strange power women held. It was the strongest magic that he had ever experienced... nothing in his devastating repertoire of dark and evil spells had he ever made or created such a spell that created such weakness and mind-bending impulses. It was surreal, and it scared him. After his... excitement subsided, he finally calmed down, and sank back into his normal cynical self. He ached though, and he sort of wished he acted on the strange impulses that had wracked his body...

Either way, he wanted to push those thoughts from his mind... he was embarrassed about this rather profound weakness in him. He lay there thinking. He, in a sense, had already found a family and friends. It was shocking.

He felt his heart beating ever more steadily and this odd heart... Je didn't even know if he really even had a heart. For all he knew, he might be imagining the whole sensation. It could most likely be the result of all these new, strange emotions, feelings and situations that he had suddenly and abruptly been introduced to. After all, Shadowborns don't have hearts. They don't have hearts, and they don't feel love. Or, that's what is typical of Shadows...

But, he fell asleep happy, for the first time in his life, and he fell asleep for the first time without his knees pressed to his chest, and he fell asleep for the first time without worry of the Hero coming to kill him while he slept, so he could stop Ganondorf. he was at peace, and relaxed...

He enjoyed the feeling very much.

Now all he had to do, to be the happiest Shadowborn alive would be to find some poor fool to slaughter in the morning.

Regardless, tonight was the first night that Dark fell asleep with a smile.

Actually, tonight was the first night Dark ever smiled.

As he slipped into a bliss he hadn't felt before, the bliss of peace, he heard one thing until the very moment he fell asleep, that he can't say he'd ever think he'd hear while he fell asleep, nor enjoyed the sound of...

The beating of his heart.


	3. Two Halves of One Whole Moron

Dark awoke the next day as an unbearably bright light streamed down on him through the window near him. Dark growled, rolling over to hide from the sun. He groaned momentarily, slipping back into sleep. But, to his unhappiness, the door burst open, with a jolly voice at it's opening.

"Well what stray has my lovely daughter brought us!?" He nearly yelled, with a hefty belly laugh. Dark jumped at this loud and obnoxious voice and fell out of bed, in his startled predicament.

In his blurred vision, a fat short man with a slightly balding head with a ponytail, red cheeks and a smiling mustache peering down at him, along with a tall, pencil like man standing besides him.

"So, how would you like to marry my daughter?" He asked, and Dark blinked slowly, as he looked out the window, to see that it was only sunrise, and that the sun _had only_ begun to peer out over the horizon. He was in no state to answer a question he obviously didn't know the meaning of.

Dark yawned, as he chewed on nothing, in his sleepiness. "I dunno, ask me when it isn't sunrise, and when I know what that means. And who are you two, anyways?" He said, mumbling as he got up and tried to go back to sleep. But the two wouldn't leave the room. "I'M TALON!" The short man practically shouted and the pencil-man spoke gruffly. "I'm Ingo." They both stood there, watching as Dark crawled back into bed.

"Do you mind?" He asked irritably, when the two continued to watch. "No, we don't. It is _our_ ranch and _our_ house, so we can do as we please. So, we'll be stayin' right here, and wait riiiight up til you wake up." The tall thin man named Ingo said, his pointy slanted eyebrows twitching in obvious delight in making the young Shadow uncomfortable.

"Fine." He said, aggravated now, as he threw on his pants and tunic while they left. Eventually, he donned his cap and pulled his boots on tight, all while he grumbled in the tongue of the shadows, cursing them with various obscenities. He eventually left the room and walked downstairs from the main hallway that lead to the four bedrooms. Two were against the wall to the left of his door, and down the hallway at the end, was Malon's room.

He walked into the dining room of Malon's enlarged home, where her father and his friend were sitting, drinking coffee, while chatting about farming techniques, as well as techniques for getting good children from mating the right horses and cows.

Dark walked out of the house and looked for Malon. She was out in the field, where the horses were about, grazing and in general (wait for it) horsing around. Dark walked out to her and as he walked through the opening in the fences, the horses seemed to be reproachful of him. But now they seemed to be curious of him and some courageous stallions actually ventured out towards him, sniffing him and trying to size him up.

He cocked an eyebrow. They were terrified of him yesterday... why were they trying to approach him now? He held up a hand slowly, and lifted it to the horses nose so he may sniff him easier. The horse nudged his hand, and Dark pet his nose gently.

"Eh, maybe these things aren't as bad as I thought they were... I like this one, what's his name?" He asked, Malon, and she walked over to Dark, and the horse he stood next to. "Oh, that's Faer. He's a bit wild, but nothing too serious. Want to try riding him?" She asked, and Dark looked at the large creature, with an apprehensive look.

The horse seemed to be staring at him in a fashion that seemed to say; Try me. As much as he wanted to disprove the horse, he decided against it. "No, thanks... I prefer to rely on myself... I could keep up with a horse on foot, I think." He said, petting the horse's nose. "By the way, Malon... what's a friend do?" He asked, and she did a double take.

"You really don't know much, do you?" She said in an amazed voice and Dark looked at her sideways, his crimson eyes glowing with that same look that made her feel like the air around her was closing in and strangling her.

"Sorry." She said, lowering her eyes. Dark shrugged. "Whatever... but what do they do?" He asked and she forced a weak smile. "Well, they... they visit each other. And... they spend time together?" She said, finding it odd to describe what something so natural was.

"And they do what, together? Do they fight?" He asked, somewhat interested now. "Do you know how to fight?" He asked and she shook her head, with a laugh. "No, I don't. Do you know how to ride a horse?" She asked, mockingly, and Dark was silent.

"Right. But, they keep each other company so they don't get lonely. They talk about their lives, and do things each other enjoys." She said and Dark nodded. "Seems easy... so that's all you want?" He asked and she nodded.

"Oh, another question... what is to 'marry' someone?" Dark asked, and Malon looked at him quizzically, and then she rolled her eyes. "Did my father ask if you wanted to marry me?" She asked, and Dark looked at her, waiting for the answer to what it was, while petting Faer.

"Well, it's a union between two people... it comes with a big promise to only love one another, and have children and love them as well." She said, and Dark nodded. "Love, huh?" And she nodded. "It's a beautiful thing." She said, and Dark turned to the horse, saying nothing.

Dark finished petting the horse and he felt his muscles tensing. Being around things he could kill, his dark mind consistently reminded him of what fun it would be to slaughter them all. As he pet the horse, he saw misty images of himself dancing amongst the horses in a dance of darkness, dismembering the creatures while he roared in laughter like a demon.

_Yes, it'd be fun... but these are my friends. _He kept telling his mind, and he couldn't contain it anymore. He strode quickly to the door of the house, without warning and went to his room, to grab his weapons.

He opened his door, and there was his blade, bow and shield. He unsheathed the blade, and stared at it's gleam in the dark room. Dark images played in his mind of murder, deceit, decapitation. The thoughts of doing such things sent shivers down his spine. It would be so great.

But suddenly, the pleasure of the thought of killing them chilled into a cold anger. "No." He simply said, and threw his blade after sheathing it to the floor of the room. As he sat down, he felt the presence of the Hero. Ganondorf had poured numerous powerful enchantments onto Dark, many of which were evolving now that he was free and in control of himself.

He began walking down the stairs, until he heard two voices outside. It was Malon's, and... Link's. Dark grinned wickedly, as he heard him tell the stories of his adventures, of the last couple of dungeons, and of the crazy warrior that looked just like him. He could tell Malon was biting her lip, trying not to tell him that the dark, evil warrior was in her house.

He decided to sit down at the table and pour himself a cup of the strange water called "coffee" while removing his cap. He sat down at the far end so he could see the shock on Link's face when he realized his foe was still alive.

He sipped this coffee that to him, was a sickly black-brownish liquid. He took a sip tentatively at first, and when it met his tongue, he was taken aback by the flavor. Strong, earthy... revitalizing. Such an interesting flavor... There was an open jar of milk nearby an empty cup of lighter brown liquid.

He poured some milk into the coffee, and it turned into a light brown color. "What delightful magic..." He said, curious as to what sort of alchemy this was. He took a sip of the drink after changing it's appearance. Now, the flavor was much smoother, the flavor changing to a slightly sweeter taste, with the same strength! Amazed, he drank a whole mugful, and refilled it.

The door creaked and Link walked in with Malon, who's face was lit with some sort of glow that she hadn't worn previously. Link was laughing and talking to her and then turned his face to see a mug up to a tan face, with crimson orbs peering over the edge of a mug at him.

Link stopped in his tracks and to Dark's pleasure, he saw the color drain from his face. He waved his fingers at him, slowly, with a smile lowering his mug of coffee. "What? Never seen a ghost before?" He said with a laugh and Link unsheathed his blade, and Malon looked to Link panicked.

"Put your sword away, or I'll kill you with this cup." Dark said in a deathly serious tone with a softly sinister smirk on his face, and a murderous glow in his eyes. Malon stood between them, slapped Link and turned to punch Dark in the face.

Dark fell back after being contacted by Malon's fist, not dropping his cup still filled with coffee. "You almost made me drop my fucking drink! And why does he get slapped, and I get walloped in the mouth?" He asked, rubbing his face. "Put your sword away NOW." Malon demanded of Link.

"Why!? He's a monster and he should be dead!" He exclaimed and Malon turned her back to Dark. "No, he's not, he's been here all today and yesterday and he's been nothing but nice around me." She said and Dark blew a raspberry at Link, and Link pointed to Dark over Malon's shoulder.

"He's making faces at me!" Link exclaimed, and Malon grabbed them both by the neck and dragged them outside. "Enough of this nonsense, right now! You two are going to talk it over right this moment!" She said as she took Link's weapons from him.

"You tried killing me, you bastard! You're evil, and I know it! I'll prove it to Malon, and then she'll give me back my sword and let me kill you with it!" He said and Dark grinned at him. "You really are stupid, aren't you?" He asked, and Link growled, clenching fists.

"Did you think why I was put there? Think I wanted to be put there, for seven years, to wait for you? Yes, I locked myself in a room, for seven years to wait for you so I could kill you and escape, and allow the world to be plunged into darkness! Then, I'd be done the great honor of becoming Ganondorf's slave! Yes Link, wise Hero of Time! I'm evil!" He yelled, in Link's face, a complete madness coming over him.

"I'm so evil, I'm resisting the urge to grab you by the neck and break your head off, and beat your dead body with it! You better shut your mouth before you begin to try to understand what hell I've been put through because you're a threat to the Dark Master's reign over Hyrule!" Dark shouted, a vein in his forehead began protruding.

"I would _love _to kill you, right here, and right now... but what would that serve? I was born of everything that you oppose, but I've been fighting that, since I broke out. I wanted to kill and slaughter all of the people and animals here, and burn it to the ground, but guess what?" He said, pausing, a demented smile on his face, paired with a fury burning behind his eyes.

He got close to Link, enough for the now stunned and silent Link to feel Dark's breath on his face._ "I didn't._" He said, as he pointed to Malon. "She showed me what a human was. I want to be like her. I want to be _free_, I want to be what I choose, not what Ganondorf designed me to be. And damn me if you will, I'm going to fight that design." He said, as he stepped back.

"Right now, you would faint if you could see what's inside my mind." Dark growled, closing his eyes, tapping his forehead, tapping it harder and harder, eventually punching himself in the head. Neither of the two stopped him.

"I can't get these images out of my head. These lovely pictures of me killing the people who I now care about. I don't want this." he said, holding his palm with his head. "This is all because of Ganondorf's magic." He said, and he looked to Link, with a shrewd smile.

"Why are you looking at me like that... Ganondorf's magic hasn't made you snap and go crazy... right?" He asked, almost nervously. "Oh no, it hasn't. But... you want to kill Ganondorf, right?" Dark asked, and Linked nodded.

"What's that have to do with anything?" Link asked and Dark smiled insidiously. "You are so dull." Dark said. "We have the same goals. I need to kill Ganondorf, on counts of revenge, and to finally become truly free. I won't be as long as he can still influence my mind with his magic." Dark said and Link nodded again. "You have to kill him, because you're the Hero, blablablah, serve the greater good, whatever. Let's make this interesting. Let's make this a fun little contest. A bet. Whoever wins, gets to take what's at stake. Whoever kills Ganondorf first wins the bet and whats up for grabs." He said, and Link began grinning a little.

"I like that idea." He said and Dark pat him on the shoulder. "I know, I'm glad I inherited the brains. Thanks for being stupid." He said and Link scowled at him. Malon didn't like the way these two were scheming... she had a feeling that whatever was to come out of this wasn't going to be good...

"So, what are your stakes?" Link asked, and Dark shrugged. "I don't know, what do you have?" He asked, and Link shrugged. "Stuff?" And Dark sighed, as he pressed his thumb to Link's forehead, readying one of his dark spells.

Link felt a strange, peculiar sensation, as if a hand was rifling through a paper pile in his head. "What are you doing?" Link asked, as Dark stuck his tongue out the side of his mouth, as strange way to show he was focusing deeply on reading Link's mind. "I'm reading your mind so you don't have to think of what crap you have that I may want." He said and Link nodded, focusing only on making the set up of the bet easier, and not thinking that Dark was plunging deep into his mind, learning about things Link knew about life in general that he didn't. To Dark's guilty pleasure, he began to invade his private thoughts.

"I know what I want now." Dark said with a twisted smile, crimson eyes glinting madly. Link looked at him, somewhat reproachfully at his manic look. "...What?" He asked, and Dark grinned.

"I want the Princess Zelda, and your cow you won from a race here! The one you named Betsy!" He exclaimed, voice full of mischievous delight. Malon's jaw dropped. "You like that dirty bimbo, too!?" She asked, jaw agape in shock while Link jumped in on the soon to be assault on Dark's choices.

"Yeah, why would you want the princess!? You can't own her, she's... well, she's the princess!" He exclaimed, almost nervously. "No, but in this bet, I can decide whether you get to court her, which would cause you pain, because you love her!" Dark said, excited at the prospect of this indirect revenge on Link.

Malon suddenly gasped, and looked hurt. She then glared at Link. "You _liar._" She said, and Link did a double-take between the beaming psycho before him, and his angry friend, Malon.

"I did not... I don't love her!" He exclaimed feebly, trying to climb out of his grave. Malon became furious. "LIES! You lied to me you bastard, when I asked you if you had feelings for her! WHY DID YOU LIE TO ME!? You made me think I had a chance with the most courageous and handsome man in the world! You're no Hero, you're a liar, and a horrible person!" She exclaimed, stomping off.

Link was speechless as his attempt to climb out of his grave only resulted in another five tons of dirt being dropped on his head, crushing and sealing his grave. He glared towards Dark, who held his hands out to his sides with a devious smile.

"Sorry, I had to. Heroes aren't supposed to lie, even if it is to keep from hurting those they want to protect. That and it'll make me look better, her hate you and get me a little revenge. Plus, when I win the say over whether you can try to court Zelda, you'll be truly loveless for the rest of your life! Ultimate revenge, taking the one thing you truly want from you. Hah hah hahahahah!" Dark said, finishing off with a series of maniacal laughs.

"You're a sick fucking bastard. If I win, and kill Ganondorf first, I want you to return to that room in the Temple of Water, and never come out, as long as your filthy life allows." Link said, with venom seething from his words.

Dark stepped towards him, removing his leather gauntlet, as he whispered a few words in the Shadow Tongue. "I accept it. This spell is a Soul Oath, a spell Shadowborns use among one another to make sure that a promise that's being made of each other will actually be fulfilled. Whoever doesn't fulfill their half, loses their soul, and dies." Dark said, as a red skull and crossbones appeared on his hand.

"So, let's shake on it." He said, with a grin. "I go back to my room if I fail, and I get say on whether you can be with Zelda, and I get ownership of your cow." He said, with a childish grin on his face. Link nodded, shaking Dark's gauntletless hand, as there was a sudden burst of sparks when their hands met.

Link after shaking, shot off away from the ranch, hopping onto his large steed Epona. He then rode away, at an incredible speed. Dark, frowned at Link's behavior. _He wasn't even going to say goodbye to Malon. What a visit he gave her, 'Hi! I'm back from a dungeon! Oh, by the way, I lead you on to think my heart didn't belong to anyone. I love Zelda!' and then disappears. _

_What a douche,_ Dark thought. Dark turned around to find Malon and to say goodbye to her, to prove at least he was a better person than Link. When he found her, she was leaning up against the side of the ranch's house, crying.

Dark became a part of the shadows, and slid up besides her. He then revealed himself. "You shouldn't let him being a complete asshole bother you. I'm sure there's plenty of other men who'd love to be with such a kind, pretty girl like you." He said, screwing his face up, trying to keep from showing disgust at himself for saying... nice things. But, he'd make an exception for her. Only her, he decided. Everyone else could go to hell.

She jumped and turned away from Dark quickly, trying to wipe her eyes before he could see her like this anymore. "You're just saying that." She said weakly, her normally firm voice meek and soft. Dark sighed. "No offense, but I wish I was. The fact that you're not even dead yet is completely violating what I am." He said, with a sigh.

Malon punched him in the chest sharply. "Don't say crap like that. What you are, is a nice, caring, even if a little twisted, goodhearted person." She said and she turned to him. "What you are is what you want. Remember what you said, that you want to be free from what you were destined to be and want to be what you want? What you said, just defeats all the effort you've been making since you've gotten away." She said, sniffling.

Dark sighed. "It's so hard to resist these mad urges... sometimes, dark voices try to take over my mind and bring me to killing everything around me... it's so hard to force out of me." He said, looking the the sky and running a hand down his face.

Malon grabbed him by his shoulders, and forced him to look into her eyes. "It may be hard, but this is what you want. If you ever need to get away from yourself, just come running here. I'll keep you from giving in. I'll keep you sane, I'll be your support." She said and something in Dark broke just then.

He began crying.

"What...?" He asked himself, as he dabbed his cheek, finding a strange liquid. He tasted it, and it was strange... salty. He felt this strange, uncontrollable aching in his chest, but it was a happy ache. It felt like his body was being purged of emptiness. It felt like the hole in his life was being repaired.

And it was thanks to this simple farm girl. She was the reason why he would keep plowing forward. How strange, this feeling was. It was so odd.

She smiled at him. "See? You're human, in there. You just got to let your heart grow. The emotions you never had... they'll come to you eventually." She said with a slight smile, apparently forgetting about her own issues. Link seemed to completely fade from her mind while she was with her new friend, Dark.

He nodded, with a smile as he leaned inwards, and kissed her gently on the cheek, as a sign of appreciation of her help and existing. "Thank you. I'll be back as soon as I can." He said, with another smile, a strange new thing he never found himself able to do before. She stood there, watching him walk away, holding her palm to her cheek. Shortly afterwards, a wave of disgust swept over him and he found himself rubbing his lips on his hand with a look of sickness on his face.

Before, all he could do, was hate, and seethe, but now, he was starting to feel, to smile... to be happy.

And who was he to thank, for bringing him to this all?

That stupid, annoying owl.


	4. Fear The Keese

Dark left the ranch later in the day after gathering his items, around the middle of the afternoon. Strangely, he found a few new items amongst them that he previously didn't have. Namely a hookshot and a hammer. Dark ran through the fields, trying to find where Link could be. Eventually, Dark found Link exiting Hyrule City, apparently having bought something.

Dark, with a grin on his face, cast a spell that like in the Water Temple, allowed him to dissolve into the surroundings. Camouflaged, he gave chase. Link's horse was definitely faster than most normal steeds as Dark was barely able to keep up, while running at a comfortable pace.

He smiled a bit more as he saw that Link was getting paranoid since feeling his presence, but not being able to see him. Link began riding around the ranch and towards the southwest, then to around Lake Hylia. Dark followed still though; he was determined to follow Link and understand the nature of actually defeating Ganondorf.

Link had the upper hand in this contest, as he already knew of the prerequisites, whereas Dark knew nothing. After about ten minutes of mindlessly following a spooked Link, he decided to trail off a bit more, so Link would feel more secure.

In doing so, he slightly lost sight of Link, but through simple logic, he realized that Link had ventured into Kakariko Village. Curiously, looking up over the ridge that divided the plains and the village, he could see smoke rising.

As Dark approached the stone stairs that lead to the town, he saw Epona there, who saw Dark and not knowing the difference in color between Dark and Link or their differing souls, she came trotting towards him.

Dark grinned madly. "Oh, dear Epona..." He said, motioning for her to come closer as he leaned in after petting her muzzle, whispering dark words of fear into her ears. After he finished, she suddenly reared up in fright and came down with a hoof upon Dark's head, but he dissipated into a black spray and reformed a moment later, completely uninjured.

As Dark was in a mist-like form, Epona rode through him, over the bridge and away from the village. Dark laughed sinisterly to himself, while he walked up the stairs. "That'll make travelling a lot harder for Link..." He said with a devious grin.

As he walked in, he smelt the burning of wood and of flesh. "Ahhh, who got here before I did?" He said, a murderous glow creeping into his eyes. He resisted drawing his blade just yet so he could pose himself as the Hero and then slaughter whoever remained.

As he crept into the town, he became a shadow instead of dissolving into the surroundings as the former consumed less magic than the latter. That was a dangerous prospect; running out of magic. For magic was the fabric of his life, the very thing that gave him image and form.

That was why magic was so powerful against him, it fazed and blurred the fabric of his being. If a spell that stole magic power was used against him, it would be devastating. It would be like pulling a string of his fabric and unraveling him entirely.

He crept from shadow to shadow, eventually creeping up and hiding behind the corner of where Link, and some flat-chested female sheikah was standing. It was almost hard to tell if it was a woman or not, but the hips gave it away, he thought. He had been making a point to study the points of a female by observing Malon when she was unaware. Dark grinned deviously at the thoughts of what he had witnessed when she had not realized. Not only that, no man could wear pants that unbearably tight...

_How do I know what a Sheikah is?_ Dark thought, but then his mind, composed of knowledge Ganondorf had compiled for him, easily answered the question. Sheikah were beings of the shadow, the nearest humans to being Shadowborns, and able to become shadow, and cast dark magics without cost of sanity.

They were strange beings, making it a point to have each apprentice warrior of the Sheikah master both light and dark magics, so that they could use the power of both sides, to fight opposing shadows, and fight with the power of shadows.

Shortly after finishing his thoughts he heard the finishing notes of a soothing duet between the two, of an enchanting requiem, something he had never heard before, but felt as though he had heard millions of times. It pulled at his body and made him feel as though he ought to dance elaborately to the slow, swaying tune of the requiem they played. Shortly after, the two finished the song, and...

Suddenly, the woman dodged out of the way as a series of shadows burst from the well and charged at Link. From the shadows, Dark grinned his wide, sharp crimson smile and his bright red eyes became slits at the concept of Link being torn apart by his formless brethren. Other shadows shot out and used the little magic power they had stored up to hold their form long enough to set fire to the village.

Link gasped as he saw terrifying morphing shapes, becoming his nightmares and then becoming those who he cared about. He held up his shield, feebly holding his sword at his side, unable to strike down demons in the skin of his friends. The shadows sailed through him effortlessly, ripping through him with their large, talon like claws.

Lap after lap they did around him at high speeds, swiping and slashing at him. Then a flash of light erupted from a projectile from within the darkness. The female sheikah jumped out from within, launching needles at the Darklings, formless shadows, which upon contact, emitted a small burst of light, injuring them.

She rolled out of the way of a Darkling's swooping attack and in retaliation, she lashed out with two dual chains which were topped with small razor sharp looking knives. Wrapping one around a Darkling, she launched the second bladed chain at the dark creature, piercing right through it, burning a hole in the blob of morphing darkness and reducing it to nothing.

Her hands began glowing a white color and two ivory steel knives appeared in her hands which she then threw at a high speed at the remaining two Darklings, killing them with a blast of light on contact.

She then punched the ground with another glowing fist, disappearing in a blast of white light which momentarily blinded Dark. Dark looked around, and watched as citizens of this quaint little town ran about with pails of water, trying to extinguish the buildings and windmill. Now, he'd have the perfect moment to overtake Link and slaughter a whole town at the same time. His smile curled cruelly as he finally let into his love of death.

Dark drew his blade but he felt a white hot edge at his neck. "Drop the weapon, scum." A quiet and forcible voice demanded and Dark giggled, which in his Shadow form, was a bone-chilling echoing laugh. "How'd you know I was here? I'm higher quality scum than what you just killed." He said twistedly, speaking in the language of shadows, an eerie tongue. The Sheikah pressed the knife harder against his neck, causing him to hiss. "I sensed you the moment you hid yourself during the duet." She said, and Dark smiled.

He dropped the weapon as she asked, but used an extension of shadow to restrain her blade arm, while throwing his head back striking her in the face, causing her to release the death-hold on him. He whirled around quickly, leaving his blade on the ground as he threw down his shield, his wide crimson grin growing even larger.

"Fight me, Sheikah." He said in a delightfully creepy voice, which echoed and invoked coldness with each word he spoke. The Sheikah with blond bangs obscuring a single crimson eye regained her bearings and looked at the Shadow before herself with a piercing glare. Dark stood there, anticipating her next move, with an incredible joy. Nothing like the rush of a dance with death.

"Shadow Wraith, Rank Six? How rare..." She said as she snapped, extinguishing light around the two to make for a larger battlefield. "You want a fight, so I will bring it to you." She said and Dark could see a grin forming under her mouth-wrap.

He could see that her chest was taped down. She obviously wanted no pity taken on herself and she would get no quarter for such a sentiment. He was in her direct view, and able to be killed with light magics... now would be the first time he was in real mortal danger since those many years ago when Ganondorf had him kill as many of his ghoulish servants to ensure that Dark was sharp enough to kill Link.

She charged up some knives and from within Dark's crimson, glowing mouth, protruded a long, forked black tongue. The Sheikah was caught off balance by this. She blinked. "That's a technique only shown by Rank Ten Wraiths..." She said, as Dark charged at her, launching a wild boot to her abdomen which connected.

She grabbed his heel as it impacted and flipped him, but as he flipped, he did a twirl in mid-air and a flip that allowed him to launch another kick at her jaw, which connected as well.

Like a beast let out of a cage, Dark attacked ravenously. He closed the distance between them both within seconds after stunning her with that kick, and landing on his feet.

He launched a right hook, which the Sheikah ducked under but Dark launched a left hook at her that connected with her chest, causing her pain. He then did a short hop and slammed a knee into her chin as she was lifted off her feet a few inches backwards.

She did a handspring and flipped and spit some blood from her mouth once she landed. "You're a wild one, aren't you?" She said, in a twisted sort of amusement and pleasure.

"Let's see how easily I can break you." She said, suddenly from behind as the Sheikah that Dark had just brutally assaulted melted into the darkness turned out to be a doppleganger. Dark felt searing tendrils of light wrap around him, burning him to the core.

"AAAIIIIIIEEEEEEEEE!!" Dark screeched as the pain caused him to lose his focus on keeping his shadow form, as the darkness slid off of him, revealing his Shadowborn form. He struggled to keep focus on the quickly fading and shifting world around him, so that he wouldn't be sent back to the Shadow Realm.

Suddenly, the tendrils loosened. "A Shadowborn...!? The only ones in existence are... no, he must be the one Ganondorf made... you! Speak up, what's your name!?" She demanded and Dark panted. He had never felt such pain. He thought that fire spell had hurt him but that was nothing compared to the sensation of this new spell used against him.

"...D-dark..." He muttered, getting to his feet as he picked up his Anti-Master Sword and his Shadow Shield. She looked at him with deep intensity as he struggled to get to his feet.

"Dark Link? Ganondorf's puppet?" She asked as she readied the spell but Dark held his hand up. "Not anymore... I'm... against him now." He said breathing heavy. He felt his composure returning to him as the pain left a nasty headache in it's wake.

"Me and Linky over there, who's napping face-first in the dirt, are in competition on who can kill Ganondorf first. We've got bets on it." He said, with a coy grin. She nodded, seeming to be amused.

"Oh really? And what are those stakes, then?" She asked, curious. Dark grinned wider. "If I win, I get say over whether Link can try to court Zelda, and I get his cow, Betsy. If I lose, I go back to the Water Temple, where I was put to die." He said. The woman's eyes slanted, almost in anger.

"And what makes you think you have say over what Link or Zelda can decide?" She said, with obvious anger. Dark laughed, as he removed his glove, and showed her a gruesome looking skull and crossbones on his hand. "A Soul Oath." He said.

The Sheikah gawked at the mark. "That's an incredibly rare spell, few in my clan know how to use it." She said, and Dark winked at her. "Well, it's because I am the embodiment of darkness in it's perfection, especially with who I'm based off of. Being based off of the purest person in the world, I'm basically the most soulless bastard you'll meet in this realm or the next." He said with a grin.

"Then why do you have a heart?" She asked, and Dark paused, struck with a silence. She noticed? He stood there, quiet and without an expression on his face, the only sensation to be felt being his softly beating heart. "I don't know. Because there are a few people I don't hate?" He asked, with a shrug. "But to hell with the rest of them. They can bite my co-" But then he was interrupted by a sharp backhand.

"Watch your mouth." She said simply and Dark squinted his eyes, feeling an overwhelming urge to kill. The Sheikah's stance though proved that she was more than willing to end him. "But me aside, as interesting as I am, what has brought such a pretty nameless Sheikah like you to spare such scum like me?" He asked and the Skeikah blinked at him.

"I am not a girl, fool." She said, blatantly lying. Dark laughed. "Well, then you must've chose the wrong day to pretend to be a boy, because you wrapped your chest poorly. I can still see 'em." He said, gingerly poking her chest and this time, it wasn't a backhand but a swift sideways kick to the face.

As Dark flew backwards, landing on his back, he laughed. He stood up shakily. "I rest my case! You're a girl." He said and she sighed. "Whatever. Treat me differently than you would any man and I'll make sure you die for letting your guard down, or taking it easy on me." She said, aggressively. "Sure thing, ma'am." He said with a chuckle, which caused her to raise her hand as if to backhand him, and he raised his forearm to block the oncoming attack, but it never came.

"That's what I thought, coward." But at the end of this sentence, he ran up to her, ducked under an elbow, and from a low positioning, launched a fierce upward kick, lifting her off her feet.

As she rolled backwards, Dark sprung to his feet. "So, what's your name?" He asked and she coughed viciously as she had the wind knocked out of her chest. "S-sh-sh-Sheik." She said, and Dark nodded.

"Well, that's original. I don't think I'll forget." He said, mockingly. She eventually got to her feet, rubbing her stomach. "That was more like it." She said, in referral to Dark not holding back.

"It's not a Shadow's way to discriminate who one's self kills." He said and a placid look returned to her eyes. "So, how do you intend to kill Ganondorf? The only one who can get in is Link." Sheik said, and Dark shrugged.

"Let him do the work, and sneak in?" He said with a chuckle and a shrug. She went to raise her finger, to protest in favor of Ganondorf's defenses. But she couldn't see a problem with such a strategy.

"So, what you're getting at, is that you're going to sneak in after Link has gathered all the Medallions of Spirit, and after Link creates the bridge to Ganondorf's Castle, sneak past the barrier erected to stop Link's progress, as the barrier repels only good. But, since you're made to be the exact opposite of Link, you'll be able to sneak through it, while still able to damage Ganondorf, since your blade is based off of Link's, allowing you to damage him, although at a lower amount of damage. But, while Link's off trying to disable all the shields, it'd give you plenty of time to kill Ganondorf, and win the bet. Right?" She asked, and Dark paused, blinking.

"No, actually, what I was planning to do was to sneak in after Link had gathered all the Medallions of Spirit, after Link created the bridge to Ganondorf's Castle and sneak past the barrier erected to stop Link's progress, as the barrier repels only good. But, since I'm made to be the exact opposite of Link, I'd be able to sneak through it, while still able to damage Ganondorf, as my blade is based off of Link's, allowing me to damage him, albeit at a lower amount of damage. But, while Link's off trying to disable all the shields, it'd give me plenty of time to kill Ganondorf, and win the bet." He concluded, as Sheik glared at him and Dark grinned.

"I know, it's an excellent idea, isn't it? I'm just brilliant." He said as he just pissed off Sheik, stole her idea and found a solution to his previous dilemma of how he'd win the bet. It was a win-win all over the place. Except for Link. _But who gives a shit about Link?_ Dark thought, cruelly.

"One last question before I go and wake up the fairy-boy." He asked, in a sincere tone, and Sheik nodded. "What?" She asked, and Dark grinned, mischievously. "Why do you hide everything under there? I bet you're cute in there..." He said, with a devilish grin, but Sheik merely sighed and rolled her eyes, snapping her fore and middle finger, causing a flash of white light that blinded Dark and dispelled the shadow spell.

Dark walked over to Link, and kicked him sharply in the ribs. He groaned as he rolled over onto his back, and he awoke to the image of Dark, staring at him lazily, chewing on a weed he plucked from the ground.

"Wake up, sleeping beauty." Dark said, with a grin, nudging him in the ribs further. Link groaned, getting to his feet. "Why did you have to kick me?" and Dark smiled sweetly. "Would you prefer me kneel besides you, rub you gently, and whisper in your ear?" He asked and Link looked horrified.

"Actually, I should've done that. It would've been much more amusing to see your reaction to waking up to see my face and not Zelda's." He said with a twisted grin that caused Link to chase him but Dark ran into the nearest wall, becoming Link's shadow that was cast against the wall by the sun behind Link.

Link drew his sword, and poked his Dark/shadow, who laughed at him, crimson eyes and mouth forming into a smile and squinted eyes. "Damn." He said, as he sheathed his blade, and walked into the graveyard. "Hey, you know, it's kinda cool down here. Mind if I hitch more often? You could do all the work, and I can just chill out down here, and annoy you! It'd be perfect!" Dark said, in a tone that got on Link's nerves.

"No, I already have the irritating fairy that tells me how to do things I already know how to do. I don't need a murderous shadow ruining my life more than you already are." He said, and Navi escaped from his hat quick enough to speak. "Hey! What would you do if it wasn't for me being your brains?! I'm sure you'd die when fighting the bo-" But then he quickly shoved her back into his hat.

Link was silent for a while, which Dark found boring. Eventually he found Link entering a graveyard. Dark then removed himself from Link's shadow. "So, why have you come to such a scary place like a graveyard? Aren't you afraid?" Dark said, and he then noticed Link's shaking legs.

"You are! Link's afraid of the dark! Oh, how ironic. I'm Dark!" He said, with a chuckle, and Link yelled indignantly, "I AM NOT!" He said, removing his ocarina from his satchel. "I'LL PROVE IT BY BEATING THE SHADOW TEMPLE WITHOUT LEAVING ONCE! Except for healing items..." He added quietly, after he finished his bold statement.

Dark laughed. "Suuure. If you say so." He said as Link played the tune that felt as though it would take control of Dark's body, but he resisted the urge and watched Link intently as he leaned against a gravestone.

Abruptly in a flash of violet, he was swooped up by a glowing spirit and lifted into the sky onto a ledge above where a strange hole in the ground was. Suddenly an image pierced Dark's mind.

A strange pair of large hands and an eye appeared in his head. One of the hands waved at him cordially as if he were someone he knew once. Dark grinned, recognizing one of his kind. He was a Giant Shade, one of the unofficial top powers in the Shadow Realm. His kind were used often to guard things and lately, Ganondorf had been enslaving Dark's kind for his own purposes.

"HEY, LINK!" Dark yelled and Link ran back towards the large wooden railing on the ledge, glad to have a reason to leave the temple, his inner child having almost completely taken over. "What?" Link called back down to him.

"Say 'hello' to my cousins in there, will ya?" He asked, with a sinister grin.

Link was terribly afraid of what Dark's 'cousins' were, as he turned and stepped back into the dark, dank and death-smelling temple. As he approached the first door, he shrieked in terror.

"Oh." Link said, as he only saw a baby keese fly overhead.


	5. A Confusing Truth

Link trudged through the literal hell hole. The walls were of a dark hue and coated with a thick slime that Link feared to touch. Soon enough, he reached a heavy looking door locked shut with a series of interlapping platinum chains and fastened shut by a horned diamond shaped lock. Link shuffled around in his pockets feverishly as he heard what sounded like the scraping of feet against the cold stone flooring behind him.

Link was terrified of this dungeon. It was driving him insane, the invisible holes in the floor, wallmasters and in general, things that should not have ever come into existence. Was this the world that his dark brethren came from? Link shuddered as he imagined what the Shadow Realm looked like. Quickly though, he shoved the key into the lock and turned it, causing the lock and chains to fall to the stone in a clattering mess.

He ran in, drawing his blade as he knew what was in this upcoming room. An epic battle with a monster of terrible might that withheld the Sage's power from awakening and aiding the Hero of Time. And this was something unforgivable to Link, as it was keeping him from ridding the world of evil. With a renewed burst of courage, he ran straight into the dark room.

With his first step into the room, he found himself tumbling down through the ground and landing on a springy canvas-like surface. He scrambled to his feet, looking frantically around for what his target was. Feeling he was being watched by an invisible foe, he quickly placed his Lens of Truth to his eye. What he saw caused him to drop his lens. A large pair of hands and a large eye were staring at him. _Is this Dark's cousin!? _He asked himself as he held his blade shakily and readied himself for a tough battle.

Dark stumbled backwards and tripped over a tombstone. He then lay against the soft green grass, panting heavily. "What a rush..." Dark said between deep breaths. His appearance was fading between his dark visage and the cheery lightened features of the Hero. Somewhere between the two was a film of a slimelike darkness, moving as if it had a life of it's own.

"My powers have been evolving since I left the temple and have been exposed to the Hyrule. What a world... it's swirling with endless magic." Dark said, as he took a deep breath in through his nose, taking in an ether-like substance. "That's the Gift of the Goddess." A voice said from behind him. The voice was familiar though, and Dark recognized it immediately as Sheik's.

"It's the gift of life and magic that is over-abundant in this world, even after being torn asunder by Ganondorf." She said, spinning a finger in the air, drawing the same ether from the atmosphere that Dark inhaled. "It's only natural that a monster like you would consume that gift for power." She said in a solemn tone, and Dark squinted at her.

"So, who are you? And why are you helping the Hero for no reason? It can't be for the sole sake of helping him, no one's selfless in this world." Dark said cynically in a soft tone. Sheik paused. "Not even the Hero who's fighting to free the world?" She asked. Dark scoffed. "He's in the same position I was. Forced into slavery by powers far higher than he and given no choice. He's not fighting for anyone except himself. He wants his life back." Dark said, plucking a blade of grass and raising it to his nose. Inhaling deeply, he breathed the life out of the grass leaf, reducing it to a crisp brown shell of it's former self.

Dropping the blade of grass, Dark's eyes glowed with a faint crimson light. Sheik stared at his solemn demeanor. "You're pitiful." Sheik said with a degree of disgust in her voice. Dark grinned slightly. "When darkness is the only thing you've seen, you never stop seeing it." He said, tracing shapes in the grass. "Don't think you're the only one here who knows what it's like to see darkness." Sheik said, and Dark sensed a change in her aura.

As a silence pervaded the two, Dark spoke again. "You never answered me. Why are you helping the Hero? There's only about two people I could imagine helping the Hero, from what of his past I know." Dark could smell her sudden panic.

"The two people who could be able to help Link directly are either Impa or Zelda. No one else knows he's the Hero." He said plainly. "So, seeing as Impa doesn't fit your physical appearance at all, I could only imagine that you're..." And suddenly, a piercing pain wracked Dark's body.

Everything became dark, as if he drifted from his own body as it hit the earth. _Don't say it. He'll hear, and all will be lost Go to the Desert Colossus, south of here and through the Gerudo Camp._ Then suddenly, Dark awoke, having stumbled over the tombstone and having hit his head. "What the hell kind of dream was that?" He asked himself, rubbing his head. Sitting up, he heard a whirring in the air and looking up, he saw Link descending from the sky in a turquoise crystal.

Dark grinned devilishly as he took a crouched position to increase accuracy, and drew his bow. Nocking and arrow, he aimed it for Link and let the arrow fly. The onyx tipped arrow collided with the crystal, shattering it. As it shattered, Link looked as if he were torn out of a blissful euphoria, and thrown into hell. Link tumbled a height of fifteen feet towards a painful landing. Screaming in fear, he managed to land on his feet and felt pain shoot like lightning through his legs.

"You bastard!" Link shouted as he recovered from the pain. Dark felt bad for him for a moment, but the sentiment passed as quickly as it had come. He decided to lend him a hand though. Striding over to him, he wrapped an arm underneat Link's arms and hoisted him and lent him support. Link looked to his darker half who looked at him with a placid, almost sympathetic expression. _Maybe he isn't as bad as I originally thought. He's probably just a little messed up. Who wouldn't be when they've been forced to stay in a room for seven years? At least I got to sleep through all those years... _Link thought to himself, as they walked out of the graveyard and moved towards the center of the town.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted as he was thrown headfirst down into the well. Managing to grab onto the rough surface of the wall and stopping his fall, Link changed his mind. _Nope, he's just an asshole. _He said to himself as he angrily climbed the wall out of the well."C'mon Link, just one more medallion. One more temple, one more fight, then I kill Ganondorf. Then I can send away that freak Dark and restart my life from where it was supposed to have been." He said to himself aloud.

He left the village somewhat upset. He then procured his ocarina, and played a song that Malon taught him that his horse Epona would always come to when played. Sure enough, Epona approached him, but refused to let him on her back. As he got close enough to touch her, she reared up in terror and came down with a heavy hoof on his head. Sent reeling back by the severe pain, he was knocked out for a few moments, unable to get up.

Once he got up finally, he saw his mare stepping back away from him in fear. "What's wrong Epona?" He asked in a hurt tone. She flared her nostrils, scared of Link. Link grew frustrated quickly. "Come here already!" He called, and she edged away from him. Link decided to jump to his feet and chase his horse down, eventually catching her. Once he managed to mount her, she finally relaxed after a few fevered moments of bucking. Link sighed in relief and as he nudged her to trot forward, he noticed a small piece of paper tucked under the saddle.

_Did you have fun catching your horse? Yes? No? Oh, well isn't that sad. I'll see you at the next temple, fairy-boy. Dark_

Link crumpled the piece of parchment and threw it to the ground in a rage that was unfitting of the savior of Hyrule. He kicked his horse angrily, to shoot off to the next temple, but she instead trotted slowly towards his destination. Link sighed, placing his palm to his face in frustration.


	6. A Typical Ending

It was mid-day, and the blazing sun beat down on Link. He panted heavily, his thick clothe tunic sticking to him like slime. "Epona... _please. _Run just a little for me?" He asked, nudging her gently on. She shook her mane, blowing a raspberry through her lips. Link let his head droop to the back of her neck in exhaustion.

Dark followed closely behind the two, the sun bearing no effect on him. He looked to the bright sun. He was a monster of darkness; he wasn't blessed to feel things. Things like the sun and cold wind against his face was nothing. The only things he was allowed to feel was pain and distress. Ganondorf had built him to be a thing of anguish, disdain and fury. Now those emotions were being turned against his dark master. Dark's eyes turned to the sun, and he basked in the stinging the flaming star's rays brought to his eyes. What other way did he have to feel alive?

Eventually Dark grew bored of having to follow Link at such a slow speed. Shooting off, he followed Link's general aim and reached a canyon pass. He looked around, the stone walls looking almost familiar. Paying no mind to the sentiment, he rushed forward to find another way to hinder Link. To his glee, he happened upon a rope bridge crossing over a river that carved its way through the canyon. He unsheathed his Anti-Master Sword and threw it into the air. Focusing a large amount of magic into it, he enveloped it in a thick shadow that he could control.

Thrusting his palm forward, the blade shot forth with his will as it's momentum. With a sharp slicing sound, it successfully severed every single rope suspension on the left. On it's way back, it took out every rope on the left as well as it zipped around gleefully. It shot back to his hand, where he simply swung it. With the swing, the thick shadow enveloping it slid off and dissipated into the atmosphere. Dark began panting heavily. This canyon was less abundant in life he could devour. He'd have to rely more on the regenerating dark magic that flowed through his being instead. He then turned to the tent to the right.

Pushing aside a canvas flap that closed it shut, he found a married couple within. "Hey, the bridge is busted." Dark said, emotionlessly. The man who stood within was bald and hardy from labor. He wore a pair of shorts and an open tunic. "Alright, we'll fix it right away." He said gruffly, avoiding eye contact with the eerie Dark. He stood there silently, orbs of crimson staring at the man devilishly.

"No, you won't fix it right away." He said, as he felt a fierce compulsion to reach to his waist. Obliging to this demand of his subconscious, he found a blade between the length of a short sword and a dagger. It's wooden hilt was of a mahogany color, and the gem set in it's hilt was an opague gemstone. The blade was a dull gray like the blade of his Anti-Master Sword. Thinking back, it reminded him of Link's Kokiri Sword that he gained when he was a child.

Evil intentions spun a terrible smile across Dark's face. "And I'm going to make sure it's never built." He said in a low voice as he twirled the lengthy dagger in his hand. "Because I can't allow him to get across. I need to hinder him." He said, as the interior of the tent darkened as the nearby candles went out. The air chilled and the room became entirely dark. The laborer and his wife opened their mouths to scream in terror, but no sound came forth. All they could see in the dark were his two wide crimson eyes, peering through them.

Dark lunged forward, but the familiar sound of a man's voice urging his horse on interrupted him. The darkness dispelled as quickly as it had come and the two were left there, eyes wide and shaking violently. "Now, don't you dare rebuild that bridge. If I ever come back and see that it's fixed, I'll make you eat your own organs. Well, maybe what's left of them once I've had my fill." He said with a twisted snarl. The woman then fainted and the man pissed himself.

He used his dark magic to become entirely invisible and watched as Link, about ten yards from the bridge, tried to get his horse to run. Dark smiled, as he ran up beside the horse. Leaning into Epona's ear, he whispered more of those words that had terrified her earlier. Epona reared up in fear again, and this time bolted forwards with Link on her back. She galloped at full speed up until the bridge. Dark grinned happily as he hoped the two would stumble over the edge and down to their demises. Unfortunately, the horse proved to be the smart and sat on her hind hoofs, slowing herself down and managing to slide in a complete semi-circle.

As she rose to all hoofs, she saw the shadow form of Dark Link, a black whisp of darkness with crimson slits for eyes and a wide mouth filled with sharp teeth. Link seeing this form of him was frozen in shock. Epona reared backwards, throwing Link from Epona and over the edge of the ravine. Dark began laughing hysterically as he saw Link's horrified face as he fell backwards over the edge.

Link fell for a good few moments as he scrambled through his pockets for the one thing that would save his ass right now. The Longshot! Grasping it, he took careful aim and shot it at the lip of the ravine. With a jerk, he was launched back up. As he surged back towards the surface, the sound of Dark Link's laughter infuriated him. As he launched over the edge of the cliff from the momentum of the Longshot, he pocketed it and quickly drew his bow and arrow.

In mid-air, a frenzied look of hatred burnt in his eyes. The wind from launching over the cliff had taken off his cap and threw his hair all over the place, making him look like a madman. "DIE!" Link shouted, as the arrow he held tight to his bow burst with a glacial purity; snowflakes flew around his bow as if with the single steel tip, he had harnessed the rage and chill of a blizzard.

Dark dropped his guise quickly and frantically converted the guise into a shield of black magic to hopefully keep the deadly arrow from striking. Link launched his arrow, and behind it trailed streaks of white and teal, frosting the air as it flew. As it shot towards Dark, a black shadow from nowhere shot from the peripheral of his vision, snatching the arrow from the air.

But even without the prime of the enchantment, Dark was still hit with an onslaught of frozen magic. The shards of ice and sleet tore through his dark shield and chilled him to his very soul. He felt the color drain from his face and he lost control and feeling of his body. He dropped to the ground in a slump, and his vision began to fade. His hearing still held out though; he forced it to. He wanted to know who that was who saved him from his death.

"What are you doing!?" The rough voice of a female shouted. It was Sheik. Link snarled. "I was going to kill him." Link said, as he drew his Master Sword. "I was supposed to have ended him in that dungeon." He said, as he advanced on Dark. Sheik drew a handful of needles and summoned her chain-whip. "No, you will not. If you think you're going to kill him, you're going to have a hell of a time getting through me first." She said, with a cocky tone.

Link growled for a moment. Sheik chuckled at him. "Has the Hero lost his patience? Will you kill the one who has helped you so many times, because they choose to protect the helpless?" She asked, and Link scowled and lowered his blade. "He's evil though..." He said, looking to the ground. "Link, there's a light in everyone. Just like there's a darkness as well. The light's growing in him, just like the darkness is growing in you. Haven't you felt the hatred growing in you?" She asked, and Link sounded shocked.

He squinted at her. "It doesn't matter... what I was supposed to do, was what I was supposed to do. And it'll bring me closer to the light. I need to stay pure, I'm the Hero." He said, and Sheik paused. "So it is happening, like the elder suspected. So, I'm going to have to fight you? Sure you can't just ignore your call to "duty" for once?" Sheik asked. Link shook his head. "I need to do this. If I can't win, then I suppose it's destiny that he has to live." He said.

_Destiny. What a fickle thing. _Dark thought as he writhed between consciousness and the dark unknown that lay beyond his closed eyes. _One day, I was sentenced to die, my fate waiting at that damned room in the Water Temple. Now, I'm being protected by a Sheikah. _Dark lowered his eyes and concentrated on the faint beating of his heart. _Is that the light growing in me? Is his heart withering while mine grows? _He asked himself, as he fell deeper into sleep.

Link rushed Sheik, who quickly threw the needles at his shins to keep him from attacking her. Like a bull, he rushed straight through them all, ignoring the pain. He swung his blade with two hands, cutting the wind and forcing Sheik to jump back quickly or be cut deeply. She lashed out at Link with her chain-whip, but he merely deflected it with his shield.

"You're too light to fight me." Link said gruffly as he charged forward, slamming her with his shield. She stumbled backwards, and to her dismay, away from Dark. Link leaped for him, thrusting his blade down to skewer the helpless Dark.

Sheik threw herself over Dark, holding her body inches above him to stop the blade from touching him. Link couldn't stop the thrust at this point. The blade sheared through the meat of her lower back, and showered Dark with her blood. She screamed in pain, and Dark used what little energy he had to turn to her.

She still managed to hold herself up, the tip mere inches away from his body. Dark could feel the intense power of the Sword of Evil's Bane. Looking to Sheik's face, he could see a visage of intense pain. Her eyes were squinted and watering, and her mouth was twisted in a grimmace he could see even through her face mask.

Dark outstretched his shaky hands and took her face in the cradle of his palms. He pulled her towards him, and held her against himself. "Thank you." Dark said with a wispy voice. Dark turned his weak vision to Link, who loooked ashamed of himself. "What am I becoming...?" Link asked himself, looking from his hands and his bloodsoaked blade.

He turned from the two and shot his hookshot across the gorge. He shot across and ran quickly to his next stop on destroying Ganondorf. Dark felt himself slowly awakening from the frost that inhibited his movement. Sheik's blood was warming him. Reaching to her back, he stroked the wound, saturating his finger in her blood. She winced in pain. "What are you... doing?" She asked, unable to move. But amidst her pain, she looked... content.

"You were right... I'm a monster. I consume life to gain power. But for once... I'm going to use that curse as a blessing. I just need something filled with that life that fills me with such power..." Dark said feebly as he plunged his finger into his mouth, taking in her blood. Sheik looked at him, frightened, but understood. Blood was the very life of a human. That's why many monsters killed for the taste of human blood.

"Delicious." Dark sighed, as feeling rushed back to his body. He blinked slowly, as he lifted Sheik off of him and into his arms. He sighed again, as he bent down to lick the blood from her wound. Sheik weakly resisted. "Stop it... that's so... wrong." She whispered, as she blushed. "Either we both die, or you let me do this." Dark said, and she quieted down as she felt his smooth tongue run over her abdominen, causing a mix between discomfort and pleasure surging in her stomach.

"Ahhh." Dark sighed, content. "That' should suffice now." He said. His skin was still a little pale and his breathing labored. Sheik groaned in pain. She was losing too much blood. "Do you know any..." But she was interupted by a string of pained coughs, "...forms of healing spells?" She asked, and Dark shook his head. "I only know how to bind souls in contract, kill, and how to consume to heal myself." He said, and he looked at her.

"The best I can do is cast some sort of spell that'll bind our souls. Whatever future we would've had will most likely be altered as our destinies will become entwined and tangled with one another's. Are you fine with this?" He asked, panting. Sheik coughed up some blood. "Well, it's either that I'm stuck dealing with you, or I die. I'll take my chances with the monster." She said with a weak smile. Dark grinned weakly. "I'm not even sure it'll work. For all I know, we could still die." Sheik shrugged.

"What's life without a few risks?" She said, and with that final sentence, Dark initiated the spell. A dark orb appeared on his chest and expanded and grew to the size of a fist. It then exploded outwords and consumed the pair. Dark and Sheik could no longer, feel, see, or hear anything. The only thing that they sensed now, was that of bonding.

The orb exploded in a flash of white brilliance, and Dark felt himself fall out of existence with Sheik. All he felt now, was the sensation of a warm body pressed against him and a hand placing something cold and metallic in his hand. This sleep felt endless, but eventually the warmth that lay with him dissipated like mist, leaving him in the cold darkness... alone.

Life as usual. Alone.


	7. Never Drop Your Guard

As Link walked away, he looked towards the sandy dirt beneath his feet with hollow eyes. He had come to the realization he was becoming a monster. He tried ignoring it, but he'd killed so much. He'd seen so much horror and death. Link couldn't take it. He dropped to his knees, the pain of his duty too much to bear. "I'm only a child..." Link muttered, as he grasped at his head.

Images of monsters being torn limb from limb, gore and muck covering Link pervaded his mind. At first, the concept of killing such terrifying monsters was so surreal and unnerving to his young mind. _Slice, slice. _The sounds of metal shearing fetid flesh resonated in his mind. _Thump, slosh. _Hunks of dark meat hit the ground, murky blood falling soon after, the corpse of it's owner soon to fall as well.

Link's eyes watered. "I'm... only a child..." He muttered over and over feebly as he curled into a ball in the desert sand. He slammed his head against the ground a couple times as he tried to force the memories from his head. His childish innocence was gone. Did they consider they damage this would have on his weak mind? Did they consider how forcing him into this duty would warp his mind? No, the Goddesses saw him only as a tool.

Navi floated out of her resting place in his hat. "Link..." She said softly, as Link muttered and shouted into the ground while sobbing pathetically. Navi felt horrible for him. She had no idea that he was going to have to undertake such pain to do what the Deku Tree assigned her to see him through. "...It's alright. You're not a monster." She said, and Link slowly quieted as she repeated these words, nuzzling her glowing body against his cheek.

Warmth. Link calmed considerably at this point. "...I'm such a monster." He said, looking to her with sunken, hollow eyes. There was a void in his eyes, no light to be found. He had lost the spark of enthusiasm and courage that he had when she first met him. "You are not!" She exclaimed, dinging in his ear.

"You're an amazing person! Shouldering the entire world's fate on your back alone! Of course you've seen horrible things, and you've killed so much it's become instinct, but you're still you!" She exclaimed in an exasperated tone. Link sat up, his eyes still looking lacking in any form of light. "Are you sure? How do I know I'm still human?" He asked, and Navi pressed his pulsating body against his cheek once more.

"Feel that?" She asked, and Link nodded. "You're warm..." He said placidly. "Yes, I am. And that's how you know you're human. If you can feel my warmth, you can feel the warmth of happiness and the cleansing fire of purity." She said, and Link looked at her, his eyes beginning to glow again. "So, I am still human?" He said, almost excitedly. Navi glowed a content azure. "Of course silly. And any time you feel you aren't, I'll help remind you." She said with a smiling tone.

Link sat there, and placed a hand to his cheek where Navi had pressed her body against. It was still warm. "Navi?" He asked in his usual voice. "Yeah?" She asked, inquisitively. "I'm sorry." Link said quickly. Navi lightly dinged a few times in quick short bursts, as if in laughter. "For what, silly?" She asked, and Link frowned. "For how I treated you in those temples, shoving you into my hat and shouting at you for you advising me. It's just the entire time I thought I was becoming a beast or something." He said, and she dinged again in laughter. "Don't worry, I was never angry." She said, and Link smiled. "I'm glad." He said, as he motioned for her to follow as he ran ahead, feeling lighter than he had in... well, seven years.

Dark woke up with a start. He jumped to his feet and looked around. He was in the canyon, and alive. In his right hand, he felt a strange piece of metal with three corners. Opening his hand, he found a black triangle. It was strung with a fine metal chain through a hoop on the flat side, point facing downwards. "A necklace?" He asked himself. Underneath the necklace was a note from Sheik. She had apparently awoken before him.

_Dark. I want to explain why I saved you. You're going to prove a large help to all in Hyrule, the Sages and even Link himself. You managed to free yourself from slavery, and although you undertook this mission on an impulsive and moronic dare, you are fighting for a common good. I've seen the light growing in you, and it makes me envious. I can see the fire beginning to burn in you, warming you with the light of life. Friendship and caring are some of the simplest sentiments, and you've begun to discover them slowly. Those sort of things are disallowed to be felt by the Sheikah. We're only allowed to see one and only one thing: Our mission, and seeing it completed. Oracles have foreseen you doing great good for this land, despite your dark origins. I was ordered to watch you and keep you safe. That necklace is a trinket that the leading Elder of our hidden village gave me to entrust to you. It's an ancient treasure, it's real power unknown. He said it would be of great use to you in the future. You managed to save me and yourself using whatever magic you casted... but whatever it was, I'm thankful for it. It's a terrible shame for a Sheikah to die without completing their duty. I owe you more than my life, I owe you my honor. I hope to see you again soon, Dark. -Sheik_

Dark grinned. "Touching." He said with a gruff chuckle. He tried to avoid thinking about how... human he had been when he was near death. He looked around quickly though, and put on the necklace swiftly. Tucking it in, he pat his chest. The metal felt cold on his palm, but felt warm to his chest. Was it the metal, or was it his...? No. Dark shook off those sort of thoughts. He had a job to do. He needed to catch up with Link, or he'd get sent back to that terrible place.

Something caught his eye though, just before he up and left the place besides the canyon where he had almost lost his life. It was the arrow that Link had fired at him, but the ice cold chill was gone, the arrow head now resonating a thick and familiar aura; of shadow. Dark picked it up, and unwrapped a small piece of paper from around it. It was also from Sheik.

_This is a gift from me. I converted Link's arrow's magic into that of shadow. Memorize the spell on the arrow, and use it for your own arrows. I'm sure such a powerful arrow magic will come in handy. -Sheik_

Dark lifted the gently carved arrow. This simple shaft of wood and steel had almost ended him. He looked at it almost defiantly. He closed his eyes, opening them again, both of his eyes becoming entirely crimson. Through his blood-tinted eyes, he could see the intricacies of the shadows around the arrow's tip. Memorizing the pattern and commiting it to memory, he made it disappear into the darkness, from where he could summon it at any time he wanted. He didn't plan on using it. He planned on keeping it as a momento, to make sure he never would allow such a scenario to happen to him again.

He launched himself across the bridge with a single sprinting jump, and landed effortlessly across the ravine. Looking behind him, he saw the laborer from his tent peek his head out slowly. Dark glared at him, and ran a finger across his throught. The laborer froze in terror and pulled his head back into the tent quickly.

Dark laughed to himself and he made his way forward, following Link's trails. As he walked forward, he came to a fork in the road. One fork lead forward, curving gently and the second fork turned more drastically to the right. Looking to the horizon, he saw a desert in the distance, and to the right he saw what looked like a large fort. He shrugged and assumed the Colossus was in the desert, seeing as it's name was the Desert Colossus.

He continued forward, and found himself at a large gate, manned by a single tan female known as a Gerudo. "Hey, mind if you open the gate or something?" Dark asked non-chalantly. She looked to him. "You got out _again_? And do you honestly think that we're stupid? We know it's you Link, even if you change your outfit." She said, and Dark looked at her like she was a moron.

"Well, you must be stupid because I am not Link." He said and she whistled shrilly. Dark cringed ever-so-slightly, and suddenly guards came running. "HALT! We're taking you to the prison, don't resist!" One of the females shouted, and Dark scoffed. "Like hell I'll be resisting. I'm not letting anyone put me in anymore prisons." He said, and at these words, a guard charged him.

Sensing the Gerudo guard's presence rushing towards him, he backflipped over her oncoming horizontal swimg. The guards were shocked at his show of agility, but were not deterred at all by the show of ability. The now charged in as a unit, fighting in unison. Dark turned quickly, dropping to a single knee. He unsheathed his blade so quickly that it was nothing more than a blur. That swift swing of his blade fell the Gerudo that swung their scimitar-bladed spear at what was Dark's chest before he dropped to his knees to avoid.

The next quick attack was from the Gerudo that stood besides the fallen Gerudo. She swung her spear's blade vertically, aimed for his head. The blade met it's mark, but he evaporated into dark mist. The mist then formed around her, retaking the shape of Dark's body. He held his arm around the front of her, his long dagger pressed against the bottom of her stomach. He smelled her neck quickly as he plunged the blade into her gut and dragged it sideways, gutting.

_Ahh, the smell of blood and fear. Such an ecstasy. _Dark thought to himsel as he threw the body to the ground in front of himself. There were two remaining guards and the gate-keeper. They now looked to him in terror. He ran his tongue across his dagger's blade, tasting the fallen Gerudo's blood. "Good..." He said as he sighed happily. "...But I've had better." He said, sheathing his dagger on a sheath on the back of his belt. He then drew his Anti-Master Sword and let his native instincts take over.

He dashed in, dodging swipes of spears, dancing around blows and jumping over swings. With a single twirl and flourish, a moral wound was scored against a Gerudo. He laughed hysterically as his crimson eyes took on a twisted glow and a maniacal smile graced his visage. As he twirled away, he turned to black mist again. The mist surrounded the last Gerudo, and she swat it away feverishly, knowing what was to come once he materialized.

But, to her great dismay, what she expected wasn't nearly as bad as reality. When he had taken a corporeal form again, it just so happened that his blade materialized in the middle of her chest. She coughed and choked on her own fluids, her lungs filling with blood. He pulled his blade from her chest, using his boot to slide her off his blade's edge quicker.

"OH yes, that was excellent. I haven't killed in SO long." Dark said exasperatedly. "You're next, gatekeeper." He said, as he sheathed his blade. "I'm going to be creative with you. I'll make you a piece of art." He said with a terrible smile, and he took a moment to memorize her terrified expression. She was young, about his age, with smooth features contorted with fear at the prospect of her impending demise.

Reaching to his back, he found a new tool of torture. It was reminiscent of the hammer Link used against him in the temple he was imprisoned in. Except that inscribed on the side of the large dark gray hammer was the expression of a demon shouting in agony. Dark grinned as he dashed at the unmoving Gerudo guard. She was frozen with fear, unable to move.

With a twisted happiness, he laughed as he swung the hammer in an upwards motion, catching her in the bottom of her jaw and breaking it like a dried twig. But instead of breaking it sideways, he broke it in a more painful manner. She lifted a few feet into the air and backwards, landing with a thud against the gate. Dark could hear her crying in agony from the few feet away he was.

Approaching her, blood was dripping from the small crease in the now very tightly closed mouth. He had lodged her jaw upwards, keeping her from death and causing severe pain. Dark crouched in front of her, smiling like a child who had drawn something they were proud of. He ran a gloved hand across her face, and moved her wispy crimson hair from her face. "I want to see your face as you die." He said while he retained that eerie smile.

She clawed and scratched at her jaw to somehow pull it out of the rest of her skull, but to no avail. He grasp on life was weakening, and Dark could see the life fading from her. "You could've just let me through." Dark said, while she whined and eventually gave up and began crying desperately. Dark could tell she didn't want to die just yet. But he continued watching as he saw her eyes become dark and heavy. Soon, she let her arms droop to her sides, her eyes the only things still alive in her.

They were intent on staring at Dark. Her eyes wanted to comprehend why he was doing this. When she couldn't discover why, the life faded from her entirely, and Dark was satisfied. But something was tugging at his chest and he went to go to work the crank to open the gate. She fought against her death for so long, and so valiantly. Didn't that remind him of himself? Dark paused, and turned back to the lifeless body of the girl laying against the gate.

He sighed, as he walked back to her corpse. Reaching to his back, he found a small rucksack. Slinging it over his shoulder and in front of himself, he sort through it for things he could use. He sighed. Why did he suddenly care?

A familiar voice cackled in his ear. _You don't care. You're just a selfish monster. Thinking of yourself in others is moronic, especially in this fool. You helped yourself out of your death sentence, she couldn't. She doesn't deserve your help. Let her remain with the dead. _

The female voice quickly accompanied the male voice. _Aye, aye! Ignore the broad, let her die. String her up instead! Scatter her innards! Don't leave her so peacefully! Make her ashamed of her death, even in the afterlife. _The voice shrieked and Dark felt compelled to listen. He reached for his knife instead of the bottled fairy he had discovered in his pack.

Dark shook his head, and rammed his palm into his forehead. "No, shut up!" Dark exclaimed. _You weakling, leave her alone, leave her dead! _The man's voice commanded, and Dark felt himself stand and begin to walk away. "NO!" Dark shouted, as he dropped to his knees. He clutched his head, as the two voices shouted dark commands to him. These voices... they were Ganondorf's fault. He'd never be free as long as these voices could command him.

He threw himself to the ground and managed to force himself through the shrieking and roaring being done in his mind. He crawled back to the fallen Gerudo. He wanted to save her. He was out of line, killing all of them. He wanted to at least do some good... he wanted to save someone.

Every movement he made brought agonizing pain to his body. Reaching into his backpack felt as if he was punching a line of spikes. Every nerve in his body resonated with debilitating pain. His vision blurred and distorted from the massive signals of pain being sent to his mind. But he refused to pass out. He was going to save her.

He threw the bottled fairy to the ground besides the Gerudo. The glass shattered, and the captured fairy flew towards the nearest lifeless body. Flying around the body of the Gerudo, life sprung back to her topaz eyes. "You... saved me?" She asked, looking disgustedly at Dark. The pain had left him and he sighed in happiness. "Yeah. I'm a bit... unstable. I could only save one person, and I really felt bad about how you died, so I brought you back." Dark said, struggling to his feet.

"Why'd you save me?" She asked, looking to the much different Dark that stood before her now. "Would you rather still be dead?" He asked in a cold tone. She shook her head, and he extended a hand to her, to help her up. She took his hand tentatively, and he pulled her to a standing position. She stumbled and fell into him, but he caught her quickly.

"Sorry... I've never come so close to dying before..." She said as she backed away from him quickly. He chuckled. "You get used to it. What's your name?" He asked, and she paused momentarily. "Julane..." She said slowly. He looked to her and nodded. "Sounds like a name I've heard before." He said, spacing out. Suddenly, a searing pain spread from his neck to the rest of his body as he felt a blunt force strike him in the back of the neck.

Dark dropped to the ground, and Julane looked terrified as another guard from the fort crept up behind Dark while he spoke with Julane. "Good work, Julane. You kept him distracted the entire time. Maybe you're not as useless as the commander thinks." The new guard said to Julane, the gatekeeper. As Julane recovered from the shock of seeing Dark fall to the ground so easily after taking down so many guards, she began to talk again.

But she was instantly shocked once more, and she failed to speak. Dark was rising from the ground, rubbing the back of his neck. "Why wouldn't you warn me of the guard sneaking up on me?" He asked, in a deadly serious tone. "I didn't know... I didn't see! I... oh my goddesses, please don't kill me!" She shouted, and a murderous gleam entered Dark's eyes. He reached out to strangle Julane, releasing himself to the dark desires of the voices in his mind.

_Yes, choke the life from her! Make good on your folly, make her experience death twice! _The male's voice shouted in glee, and the female's voice shrieked in laughter.

Before he could reach her, she began to run towards camp to avoid him. Dark whirled around quickly as the blade of the guard's spear was about to strike him. Catching the shaft in his hand, he broke it off effortlessly and plunged the blade deep into the guard's chest.

Dark turned towards the camp. "Julaaaaaaaaane!" Dark called out, twistedly as he rushed into the fort, blade drawn. "You need to die! All traitors need to die!" Dark shouted in a voice that bordered between anger and glee. He gained sight of the fleeing Julane, and gave chase. Almost immediately though, he was surrounded by a crowd of Gerudos. The crowd circled him, and he smiled deviously.

"The winds won't be able to blow the blood from the sand once I'm through with you all." Dark said happily. He had lost his mind. The voices were commanding him now. He ducked under a lance that went whizzing overhead. Parrying a blow from behind, he then twirled and brought his blade through the nearest guard, sending them flying aside and onto the ground.

He then threw back another advancing Gerudo with his shield, and then with terrible aim, thrust his blade through another gerudo's throat, causing blood to spatter everywhere, drenching Dark. With his hatred and angerbeing built by the voices within him, the Anti-Master Sword had become powered up. It fed off of his negative emotions and the evil within him.

What if he was actually to change his ways, and become good? What if he selflessy gave, but people never gave back? What if, they instead began to take more and more? Would that were really the case? The voices twisted his mind and warped what had happened in his mind to something of a terrible betrayal. The voices told Dark that he would never be good. People would only continue to push him back into darkness.

Dark took a wide swing towards a group of Gerudos and knocked aside three with his swing. Then fromn his recoil, he felt his back being sliced open. He whirled around in a wide circle to strike whom struck him and as he spun, a wave of rippling black energy emerged, smothering the last remaining gerudos and knocking them out and aside. He stood there, wind beginning to whip around him. He stood there, hat, clothes and grey-black hair swaying in the sandy wind, red eyes piercing the last Gerudo who opposed him.

The last Gerudo bore real blades instead of scimitar-bladed polearms and wore a nearly transparent crimson gypsy outfit, veil covering her face from the bottom of her eyes down. "You will not touch my child, Ganondorf's demon." She said confidently, as her blades erupted into enchanted flames. Dark winced. He could feel the heat of the blades from where he stood. He knew this battle would not be an easy one.

She jumped at him, and she swung down on him with both her long swords. This Gerudo was strange, she actually wielded straight edged swords, not curved ones like most Gerudo. Dark also noticed that this Gerudo had two different colored eyes, one of desert sand and one of the deepest shade of sky. She wore her hair up in a high pony-tail, and out of her dazzling eyes. Dark brought up his blade, mustering all the power of shadow he could muster into the unholy blade to prevent the fire from scorching his soul. "Your daughter's quite the little backstabber." He said as he drove a knee into the crimson fighter, sending her flipping backwards. She coughed after she landed nimbly on her feet.

"You're still the same person you were ages ago. You let the darkness in your mind cloud your vision. Open your eyes, Dark." She said, and Dark looked to this woman with suspicious eyes. He began to ignore and quell the voices in his mind now and began to think as to who this woman was. "Don't talk to me like you know who I am." He said, as he charged her. He launched a volley of five blade strokes, each leaving a dark afterimage of the blade cutting through the air. She quickly dodged each of the swipes and twirled into a high kick to the bottom of Dark's chin. He was sent reeling backwards with a sickening crunch.

Dark paused, rubbing his lip which he had bitten badly from the impact. Spitting a hunk of flesh from his mouth accompanied by a moutful of blood, he posed a question. "How do you know my fighting style?" He asked, and the woman laughed at him. "You're a terribly predictable fighter. You're an unrefined warrior." She said, taunting him.

Dark scowled at her with a growl and unsheathed his dark dagger, placing his shield to his back. He spun the blade in his hand so that the blade was pointed towards the ground. He held his dagger to his side, and his Anti-Master Sword in front of himself, pointed towards the Gerudo warrior.

She this time lunged forward, and the two exchanged terrible blows. The gerudo let loose graceful and deadly efficient blows, which Dark swung and twirled his blades in a dance of darkness. With each parry, there was an explosion of clashing magic mingled with the clang of metal slapping against one another. They continued exchanging blows until Dark finally rushed at her with his dagger held in front of himself. She lashed out at him, and he knocked aside her blade deftly with the precise control of his dagger. She wasn't expecting him to do this, and she swung her second blade to stop what she suspected to be his sword swooping in for another attack.

But, she made a mistake. Dark foresaw her counter, and slapped aside her second blade with his dagger as well. Before she could swing her other blade into him, he tackled her to the ground and pressed the edge of his blade to her throat. "I swear, I can't get the concept from my mind that I know you." Dark said, and the gerudo smiled. "I'd hope you'd recognize me at least a little." She said, as her ruffled face veil revealed a smile. "You were created as a baby by Ganondorf on the day that the Hero was born. Ganondorf placed his creation in my care, and I raised you for eleven years. I'm your mother."

Dark was dumbstruck from this extravangant lie or unexpected truth to the point where he made the fatal mistake of letting down his guard. She had placed her hand against his chest. "I also know your weakness." She said gleefully, as she let loose a paralyzing blast of magic into his body, knocking him clean out.

_Shit._


	8. Crimson Stained Eyes

Darkness. When Dark slept, he was still awake. He was trapped in the dark barren void within his mind for every hour he slept. The world around him was a blackened night sky, devoid of stars to bring the warmth of light to this foreboding realm.

Dark sat there, knees pressed to his chest, chin atop his kneecaps. Dreams were a thing of impossibility for him. Any dream he had was warped into a twisted nightmare of slaughter and death by foul magics placed on him by Ganondorf to ensure that he stay unstable to the rest of the world and under his control. Only he could lessen the nightmares. But as he resisted Ganondorf, the nightmares intensified and the voices grew stronger.

He wished he could dream of his friends at Lon Lon Ranch. He wished he could dream of meeting Sheik again and being her friend as well. But in his mind, such sentiments were forbidden. They would quickly become nightmares of him ravaging their bodies or them betraying him in a terrible manner.

So he was forced to sit alone in the dark starless expanse, waiting for himself to awaken and the light to crack apart his prison of sleep. Even in freedom, Dark was still trapped to Ganondorf's will. The madness would never end as long as one of them still breathed. He was tired of forcing himself to be dreamless, to be trapped and chained by the voices in his mind.

He was alone in this darkness. He wished he could have someone to stay with him.

"Dark?" A familiar voice called out to him through the darkness. Dark paused, his crimson eyes peering through the darkness of the numb nothingness he had forced upon himself. "You're not real." Dark said, reassuring himself that he was in control of his own mind while he slept. Every now and then though, a nightmare slipped through, threatening to terrorize his weak spirit further. He refused to have a nightmare about her.

"Dark, are you ok?" The voice called out again, and Dark pressed his palms to his ears. "Not real! Not real! Not real! Not real!!" He exclaimed, focusing as hard as he could to force out any dreams his mind could muster. Then suddenly, a warm hand touched his face. His eyes shot open, and Dark saw the face of Sheik. "Dark, I am real. Are you alright?" She asked, and Dark nodded, his eyes wide and his face looking devoid of life.

"I'm fine. I was knocked out by some Gerudo claiming to be my mother. I'm probably being held prisoner know by them right now." He said, lifelessly. Sheik face was blurred by the force Dark had exerted to keep dreams out of his mind. "So, this is your mind? It's so dreary." She said, and Dark shrugged. "In order to keep the nightmares out, I have to keep everything out." He said.

"And how did you get into my mind, anyways?" Dark asked. "Well, whatever spell you cast did something odd to the both of us. When I got back to the hidden Sheikah Village, the Elder immediately sensed the change in my spirit. Your spell that was supposed to share our life forces ended up sharing our souls with one another." She said, and Dark nodded slowly. "And that means? I was just trying to save both our asses." He said, and Sheik laughed. "Well, it means we're one in the same spirit now. I can sense your location and the state of your health, and share the pain you feel." She said, and Dark didn't like the sound of the last remark.

"We share pain? So if I die?" He asked, and Sheik took her hand back. "I die with you." She said, and Dark reached out and caught her hand.

"Please." He said longingly, and she looked to him with a pitying smile. "It gets so cold in here, and I'm always alone. I need something to remind me that I'm really here." He said, and Sheik looked sad. "Ganondorf really made you a miserable creature, huh?" She asked, and Dark nodded. "You shouldn't have to be alone." She said, and Dark smiled.

"Neither should you, duty-bound Sheikah." He said, and she smiled in return. "It's different for me. I have to." She said, and Dark shook his head, while still holding her hand to his cheek. "No matter the reason, you're still a prisoner to a fate you were born into. It's wrong and you shouldn't have to suffer. Why do you have to be a prisoner?" He said, and she smiled in a strange way. Cracks of light began to spread through the dark void. "Because you are." She said, and Dark looked to her longingly. He was no longer alone.

And for the first time he wished he could stay asleep forever and stay with her, the darkness all around him exploded into light and tore the two away from one another.

"You've grown well, child." The voice of the Gerudo who knocked Dark out said. Dark opened his eyes and saw the woman sitting over him. Dark swung his feet over to the side of the bed and rubbed his eyes. His whole body ached with exhaustion. "So, who are you? Besides my mother." Dark said as he removed his cap and looked to the Gerudo warrior who knocked him out.

"I am Reseray, second in command of the Gerudo Fortress, ruled by our lord Ganondorf. And your mother, of course." She said proudly, and Dark lacked his usual energy to actually become angry when he heard his name. "You look tired, why don't you lay down?" Reseray said in a motherly tone, placing a hand and gently pushing Dark backwards.

Dark removed her hand from his shoulder. "No, I'm alright." He said, as he sat back up, rubbing his eyes. "Are you hungry?" She asked, and Dark shook his head. "No, thanks." He said, and then Reseray turned to her daughter, Julane. She was fiddling with her chin-length crimson hair, avoiding looking at her step-brother. "Don't be rude Julane, say hello to your brother." She said, and Julane looked up to Dark with azure eyes that stood out over the rest of her features. Those blue eyes came from her mother's single eye of that hue.

"Hello." She said, nervously. Dark could tell she was still afraid of him. "Please, don't treat me like that. I've been through a lot of shit and I'm really messed up. Don't treat me like a monster just because I acted like one." He said with tired eyes. Julane looked to her brother, confused. He looked entirely different than he had earlier. Before he seemed like a monster. Now, sitting before her, he seemed like a poor tired traveler.

She seemed to have become angry after he said that, as she looked away from him and pursed her lips, tapping her foot at a fast speed. Dark sighed. "Are you really that mad at me? I know what I've done is inexcusable, but can you blame me?" Dark asked. Reseray glared daggers at her daughter. "Forgive your brother now. He speaks from his heart." She said, and Julane glared at her mother.

"I'm not angry at him! I'm angry at our piece of shit leader! How could he do this to our family? How could you let him!?" She shouted angrily at her mother. Reseray squinted at her, her face deadly serious. "Silence your heretic voice unless you want us all executed." She said, and Julane resumed her foot tapping while staring elsewhere.

Dark pressed his palms to his eyes. "I'll choke Ganondorf with his innards if he dares raise a finger to either of you." Dark said, and they were silent. "So... mom. What was my real name? I've been going by Dark for a while now." He said, and Reseray smiled serenely. "I never thought I'd hear you call me that again. Julane and I thought you were dead when we gained wind of Ganondorf's uproar that the Hero had passed through another temple." Reseray said, her eyes filled with happiness.

"I don't die easily." Dark said with a soft chuckle. He then looked to his mother, waiting for her to tell him his true name. "Your real name, the name I christened you with when you were given to me to raise and train, was..." She said, pausing as if she had momentarily forgotten over the many years. "...Requaem." She said, and Dark nodded slowly. "Requaem." He repeated to himself, as he closed his eyes, the familiar name bringing back memories long past.

_Requaem! _A playful voice called out. Dark turned to see his sister taking a combatant stance against him. He grinned and charged at her, dropping his shoulder so he could ram her to the ground. Instead, she braced herself for the impact and wrapped her arms around his waist, while throwing him to the side.

He rolled and she pressed a boot to his chest. _Had enough, little brother? _She asked, and Dark grinned and grabbed her by her ankle, throwing her to the ground. Immediately he pounced and tried putting her into a submission hold so she couldn't move. As they tussled on the ground, a male's voice called out.

_**Dark Link. **_The voice called out, and Dark turned around quickly to see a tall and heavy-built man staring at him, his eyes filled with ill intent. Dark stood up and looked to the man. _**Today, you begin to fufill the purpose that you were created for; to serve your creator. **_Ganondorf said, and Dark looked to him with eyes of fear and a shocked look. _But I don't want to go! _He exclaimed, and Julane looked on in horror as Dark was held down by Gerudo guards and dragged towards Ganondorf.

_**Resisting is useless, you're my pawn. **_He said, and Ganondorf dragged him away roughly by his neck. _Mom! _Dark shouted, reaching out to the sight of his mother who stood besides their house, looking ashamed of herself. _I love you! _Dark shouted, as his mother was unable to watch any more of the saddening scene. Julane stood there, with an expression of terrible sadness on her face. She waved weakly to him as he was dragged out of sight.

_**Come now, Dark Link. We ride to our new castle. **_Ganondorf said, as he pointed to a young stallion besides his own large steed. Dark stood there, unwilling to obey. _**Are you questioning my commands? **_Ganondorf growled, and Dark refused to answer. He stood there, looking at his creator. He wanted to know what right he had to tear him from his whole life.

His destiny as he was constantly told was to kill the Hero. He lived for nothing more, and he was to wait and be trained by a mother who could bear no children to fight and be strong like a Gerudo. But why did he have to? Why didn't he have a choice? _**Your life was mine from the moment I created you from the darkness, so obey now! **_Ganondorf exclaimed, and Dark stood there still as a tree. Ganondorf scowled at him.

Dark's master stood before him, looking down to his young creation, a budding investment. But he would have to prune away whatever sentiments that his 'family' had taught him. With a terrible roar, Ganondorf launched a fist that burned with dark magic directly into Dark's stomach. Dark crumpled around the King of Evil's powerful punch and fell to his knees, clenching his stomach.

After a few moments of breathlessness, he vomited a sickly black liquid from his mouth. Panting for breath, he stared down at this pool of inky blood. Seeing his reflection in the thin layer of blood on the stone, he was reminded that he wasn't human. _**I will break you, child. Obey, or you will feel the most terrible suffering one could imagine. **_

Dark stood up slowly, blood still dribbling from his mouth. Both he and Ganondorf knew that this was not his limit. Both creator and creation knew he bore dark latent powers. _Yes, sir. _He said, as he mounted the black colt besides Ganondorf. _**We ride to Hyrule Castle, to visit the King. There, we will have... words with him. **_Ganondorf said with a sick smile.

He urged his horse forward cruelly by ramming his heels into the horse's ribcage. Dark kicked his horse to speed up, but not nearly as rough or painfully the King of Evil. Following, the two rode out of the desert, through the canyon, eventually ending up in Hyrule Field. Dark's face was stiff and unmoving, but deep within him, he bore strong feelings of despair and pain.

_I don't want to leave my family behind... _He thought, but he kept sad eyes within his mind. He was destined to be the Dark Prince to the King of Evil. Together they would throw the world into disarray, chaos and flame. Yet, his heart wasn't for this role. Heart... Dark had never felt the beating of his own heart before. He had felt and heard the sound of his mother's heartbeat, why was it he hadn't one of his own?

Perhaps it was so that he could easily become the Dark Prince that Ganondorf intended him to be. Dark Link was his secret weapon, the very thing Link would never be able to beat. Himself. Ganondorf looked back to Dark with a scowling smile. _**We will rule this world, Dark Link. Everything will be ours to crush and twist how we wish. **_Ganondorf said as he turned his face forwards. Dark didn't care. The one thing he wanted was to be back with his family.

Eventually, they rode into Castle Town. They garnered looks of suspicion, but the civilians had grown somewhat used to the unsettling presence of Ganondorf. He often frequented the Castle to keep the treaty Hyrule and the Gerudo had upheld. Today though, Dark knew what was going to happen to that treaty.

They trotted up to the gate before the Castle. The guard stood there, looking at Ganondorf and his accomplice with the same looks of strained suspicion that the villagers gave him. _What are you here for, King Ganondorf? _The Guard asked. Ganondorf smiled wickedly. _**An audience with my good friend, King Harkinian. **_Ganondorf said, and the guard looked to him and sighed. _The King is spending one of his few duty free days playing with his daughter. _He said, and Ganondorf chuckled lowly. _**It will only take a moment. **_He said, and the guard rubbed his face underneath the visor.

_Fine. _He said, slamming down his pike. _Open the gate! _He called out, and there was a sound of gears grinding and the gates opened. Ganondorf urged his horse to the front of the castle, and dismounted at the front gates. Dark Link did so as well, following as his master did. Walking in, Ganondorf led himself and Dark to the courtyard, where a tall robed man in a crown stood, playing with his daughter in the flowers. His hair was short and white, a wise look on his face, his sideburns combining with a thick moustache. A swatch of hair grew on his chin as well. He paused, and looked to Ganondorf followed by his young assosciate.

_**Hello Ganondorf. **_The king said in a deep voice. Ganondorf smiled. _**Hello, Harkinian. **_The king looked to Dark, and then to Ganondorf. _**No need to use my full name. I've said it before, you may just call me Hark. And who is this? A friend of yours? **_Harkinian asked, and Ganondorf nodded slowly. _**Yes, a very good friend of mine. **_Harkinian nodded slowly in return, looking to the grinning Ganondorf. Something was wrong. His daughter, Zelda looked to Dark, and was afraid.

_It looks... exactly like Link! How can it be? Is this some dark creation by Ganondorf? _Zelda thought, and her father seemed to be getting the same idea that something was afoot. _**If you'll excuse me, I need to speak with my advisers. **_He said, taking his daughter's hand. Impa had yet to be noticed by Ganondorf, and was a tact she employed often, watching from the shadows. She was always ready to be a step ahead to ensure their safety.

_**Your advisers can wait. I need to tell you something of grave importance. **_Ganondorf said, grinning wider. Harkinian looked to him with his azure eyes, trying to discern what devilry his "ally" was cooking up. _**Our treaty is off. I am hereby breaking the contract. And, we're invading the castle, and taking it for ourselves. **_Ganondorf said, and Impa made a signal requesting permission to attack.

Harkinian blinked twice in rapid succession and then once slowly, a signal that told Impa to wait and get into position to defend Zelda if possible firstly. Impa's face contorted into a scowl. What did Hark know that she didn't? Was he going to sacrafice himself? Zelda was indeed of higher importantance... but without the King, Hyrule would quickly fall into shambles.

Hark became deadly serious. _**Why would you break our treaty so carelessly after so many years of closeness between our nations? **_Harkinian asked, attempting to buy more time for Impa, who was slowly creeping along the shadows. Dark noticed a disturbance in the darkness, as if there were a lump somewhere behind him, clogging up the smoothness of the shadow the sun cast.

Turning to exactly where Impa was, he nearly stared her in the eyes for a moment. He knew she was there, and he knew what she was there to do. He wasn't going to stop her. He didn't want anything to do with this hostile takeover.

_**Because I'm destined to become the King of All. Nothing will be out of my grasp, once I get my hands on the Golden Trinity. Any wish I could ask for will be mine. And the only thing I must do is take the piece that remains here, implanted in your closely guarded daughter, and in the Temple of Time. **_Ganondorf said, and Hark stood in front of his daughter. _**I will not allow such a thing. Zelda will not be taken by you, even if I must die to save her. **_He said, and Ganondorf grinned.

_**If you say so. **_Ganondorf said, as he summoned a terrifying war-blade. It was sharp on all edges, having a semi-circle top that extended out over the width of the blade itself. The King stood, fearlessly. _**The Hero will destroy you. My daughter has foreseen your evil, and seen the light splitting the clouds. It's only a matter of time before he kills you. **_Hark said, and Ganondorf motioned to the young boy besides him.

_**That's why I have his dark half on my side. **_He said, and Dark looked placidly to the King. The king looked into his eyes hard, appraising him. _**That boy is unwilling to do anything for you. He may be his dark half, but he still is pure, untainted yet by your foul mind. **_He said, and Ganondorf chuckled.

_**Heh heh heh... enough talk. **_He said simply as he lunged forwards, impaling the King. Ganondorf grinned cruelly, his dark and soulless eyes basking in Harkinian's pain. Shoving the blade further into his chest, Ganondorf cackled hysterically in Hakinian's face. Hark looked him dead in the eyes, the life fading from his own. Blood poured from his mouth, but he curled it in one last attempt to spite the evil king.

_**Long live... the Hero. **_He said, and Ganondorf roared in fury, tearing the blade from his chest sideways, spraying blood across Zelda's beloved garden. She looked on in terror, seeing her father lifeless, organs spread across her beautiful roses and tulips that she had planted with him. Ganondorf whirled around, using black magic to deflect the needles that Impa had thrown at him.

Ganondorf beamed. _**Did you think I didn't feel you coming? **_He said, and he turned to Dark, summoning another blade and throwing it to him. It landed point down in the grass, black hilt inviting Dark to take it. _**Kill Zelda! Take from her the Triforce of Wisdom! It holds the knowledge of how to open the Sacred Realm! **_He shouted while he dueled with the powerful Sheikah.

Dark stood there, looking from the blade and then slowly to Zelda. Zelda looked to him in total fear. Dark frowned, not enjoying seeing a girl this afraid of him. She reminded him of how his sister was the first time he shouted at her. He didn't want to kill her. She looked like a nice person. Why couldn't he be her friend instead? Oh yes, his destiny. Dark reached out to the hilt of the sword, and saw that Zelda had become to cry. _No... don't! Please, I beg of you! _She exclaimed, and Dark let his hand drop.

_I can't kill her... _He said to himself, and Ganondorf overheard him. _**What was that!? **_He shouted in a fury, thrusting a palm into Impa's chest, knocking her back with a blast of electic energy. _**I commanded you to kill her, now kill her! **_He shouted, lifting Dark by his collar. Dark was indifferent to his fury and demands. He would rather die happily than to serve him miserably. Somehow, Ganondorf knew this as well.

_**Harkinian was right. You're still too pure. The darkness within you has been calmed by that stupid broad Reseray. Experience the darkness, rise to the shadows. Know what you are; a murderer. **_He said, and his eyes flared a deep purple. Dark looked to his eyes, confused as they shot the purple light into his face, his eyes absorbing the light. He began convulsing dangerously as he saw terrible things.

He saw where he came from. The Shadow Realm. He saw the figureless mass, where all shadows are born from eventually. It was a disgusting fleshy mass of darkness, twitching and convulsing as if it were an organ. He then saw the unnamed shadows who had finally taken form. They preyed on one another, consuming each other's bodies and spirits to become stronger. They evolved and left bones scattered around, eventually dining on humans.

Screams of agony and crimson blood stained his eyes. He saw terror in it's raw form. He felt the ecstasy of hearing the shout of agony. It was strange, he kept telling himself he didn't like it... but it brought a rush to his body as he heard it. The moans of pain, shrieks of anguish... the taste of flesh and blood. It all flooded his mind, corrupting the light that had been bred in it. The last image he saw of a demon killing a human was of himself, tearing and ripping apart Zelda. How sweet she tasted. Ganondorf stood over her and Harkinian's body, Impa's near-death figure reaching towards the Triforce of Wisdom she had been protecting in the body of Zelda for so long, to only fail now.

The taste. So sweet and moist. So tender.

_I want... to taste. _Dark said, his eyes burning a crimson. Ganondorf smiled. _**That's the spirit. Now go shear her meat from her bones and enjoy your meal. **_He said, and Dark complied, grinning at Zelda evilly with a toothy smile. He grabbed and yanked the sword from the ground without hesitation now. He strode towards her, evil intent clear as day and as dark as night.

As he raised his blade to bring it down on her, and shower himself in the spray of her blood, a figure erupted from the darkness, throwing a small object at the ground and blinding the two of them. _**Dammit! That means this Impa is a doppleganger! **_Ganondorf roared as turned to see the Impa he had knocked out standing as if she hadn't been hit at all. _You can burn in hell, the both of you. The Golden Trinity will never be yours._ Her shadowy clone said, shortly disappearing after sending that message. Ganondorf let loose a roar that shook the sky. _**I'm going to give chase, you stay here and kill every guard! Let not one escape! **_He commanded and Dark saluted. _Yes, sir. _He said, now with an evil tone.

From here on, all Dark remembered was twisted images of him dismembering and tasting the flesh of nearly every guard in the castle. Dark felt ashamed of himself now, looking back. But how did he go from being so obedient to locked away?

Shortly after Ganondorf chased after Impa and Zelda, Link opened the Sacred Realm by removing the Master Sword. In doing so, it allowed Ganondorf to lay claim to the triforce of power and take over Hyrule. Dark obliged completely to commands of manslaughter, but something itched in the back of his mind. Why was he doing this? He just wanted to be back with his family. He had been using the skills and strength that his mother granted him for such horrible purposes... he'd rather be defending his family than slaughtering villagers and running the rest of them out.

Ganondorf used his Triforce of Power and his magic to create and ideal wasteland for the beginning of his new world. As Dark Link agreed more and more to his demands, his mind began to grasp the question; Why was he doing this? What did he have to gain? His inner mind that had been smothered by the voices of darkness, urging him to kill, began to resurface. He began disobeying Ganondorf and he had even been caught plotting to assassinate Ganondorf.

Eventually, Dark Link committed a crime so unfathomable, it caused Ganondorf to do the worst thing imaginable to Dark; lock him away. He would never see the sky again, and he would remain as a guard to defeat the Hero as a boss in the Water Temple. What had he done? He wounded Ganondorf.

_**What do you mean, you're not my servant anymore!? **_Ganondorf exclaimed, and Dark looked him defiantly in the eyes. _It means, I'm done taking your orders. I've spent the last year doing what you want, and it isn't what I want. I'm out of here._ Dark said, as he began to walk away. _**Dark, I will kill your family. **_Ganondorf said in a plain voice. Dark Link stopped dead in his tracks. Reseray, his mother, Julane, his sister.

_**That's right, obey me. I have you entire life on a string. **_He said, and Dark Link turned around, and walked towards him. Ganondorf grinned happily, as if he had won Dark Link with that threat. Instead, it enraged his servant. _If you ever lay a finger on them, I will kill you. _He said, as he unsheathed the sword that had appeared the night after he had slaughtered all the castle guards, and the Hero had opened the Sacred Realm.

The blade was the counterpart to the Blade of Evil's Bane. Swinging it swiftly, he put a large gash in Ganondorf's chest. Ganondorf was struck speechless. He didn't even make a sound of pain. _**How... dare you! **_He exclaimed, bringing down a single fist with enough power to crush stone onto Dark's skull. He knocked him clean out.

Ganondorf placed a hand to the slowly healing gash. Dark Link could... wound him? This couldn't happen. He couldn't allow it to happen. He had to isolate Dark, he was now becoming a threat as well alongside Link. Thus, the enchantment and his imprisonment was ordained. Dark woke up after being out for near a day, and found himself in his new home for seven years.

Dark opened his eyes, and he looked to his family. "I remember... I remember the day I was taken. And all the terrible things I've done." He said, and his mother looked to him with a reassuring face. "Requaem, I raised you. I know your not a monster. You were forced to be this way." She said, placing a palm on his head. "But, the commander requested me bring you to her. She's putting you on trial for all the Gerudos you've killed." She said, and Dark looked indifferent. "Alright. Lead the way, mother." He said, and Reseray smiled. She'd never get tired of that.

Dark on the other hand, was distraught. Ganondorf had created him a monster, and placed the mind, soul and voices of on in his head. He needed to get out of here quick, he needed to get to Ganondorf quickly. As they walked through the fortress, Gerudos gave Dark a strange look. It seemed some of them remembered him from when he was a child, and he recognized some of them from his past. He heard murmurs of them talking about what he had done, and how the Commander was going to execute him.

Dark scowled. No one was going to end his life yet.


	9. The Liberator

Reseray led Dark, Julane following shortly behind. Julane was worried. He could be up for treason for disobeying Ganondorfand not killing the Hero. Treason against the king was death, without trial. Julane looked to her mother with nervous eyes. She too knew what him being alive meant. Yet she walked without fear.

Julane hated her mother for this. Her mother was the second in command of the Gerudo Fortress, and she had to set an example for the rest of her fellow Gerudos. She had to be fearless, emotionless and loyal to Ganondorf's throne. Inside her soul, there was a whirlwind of emotions and pain tearing her apart; the conflict between family and duty. She refused to show it though and Julane was the only one who knew her pain. Julane was the only Gerudo who didn't respect what her race stood for.

Dark followed his mother to a large set of oaken double doors, with a large brass knocker decorating it. She lifted the knocker and slammed it down twice in succession. "Come in, Reseray." A female's cold voice called out. Reseray obliged, and pushed the door on the left open. It was a long hall where a large violet velvet couch lay with a woman sprawled out on it.

She wore a similar gypsy outfit that Reseray wore but this one was far more revealing; her midriff showed and most of her chest and shoulders were exposed. The skirt she wore was also semi-transparent as well. "So, the Dark Prince has returned to us, without the Hero's head in tow." She said, stroking her smooth and toned stomach. Dark strode forward. "Correct." He said, in a snake-like hiss. She brought her finger to her lips.

"Mnnnn... Why so serious?" She asked, and Dark knew she was trying to lull his senses with her body. He focused on her face while keeping his serious. "Because my former race, I suppose I could say, is full of dishonor and petty thieves." He said, which struck a chord with the first in command. She sprung to her feet and Reseray quickly brought a fist to the back of his neck in anger. "Be respectful!" She exclaimed and Dark took the hit without flinching. His eyes were focused on the commander.

"I don't show respect to those without dignity. You kneel to a cruel and terrible man, doing his fiendish deeds. He stripped me of my family and most of my sanity. Now, I'm going to make him pay. Are you going to try to stop me? Will you protect the evil in this land?" Dark challenged and the commander's eyes burned with fury. "How dare you, you treasonous dog. You speak of dignity, yet you fail your own objective?!" She exclaimed, while snapping her fingers to have one of her servants to bring her blade.

Dark smirked. "I could've easily killed the Hero. I chose not to, because I would use the Hero and my own power to kill Ganondorf, the King of Filth, myself." He declared and the commander took her single blade in hand. "For those words, I pronounce your sentence; death. Dogs and traitors have no place in our realm." She said as she dashed at Dark at a speed faster than seemingly even light. Swinging her blade, it cut deep into his midsection, spilling his inky blood.

Dark smiled devilishly as he looked to her terror as she saw that he was still standing without any expression of pain or fear. "What... are you?" She asked as she pulled her blade from him quickly all while dashing backwards. Dark removed his hat and threw it down. "Just the shadow of death." He said as he held out a hand, the darkness summoning The Anti-Master Sword to his hand.

Using dark magic, he used the nearby shadows to bind his wound. Although he could take immense physical pain, he would die of enough bloodloss. He was partially human, afterall. "Let me fight in a more natural state..." He said as he shed his physical appearance as if it were a coat, becoming nothing more than a dark sillouhette with crimson eyes and a wide grinning mouth of sharp teeth. His blade retained it's color and appearance, but looked twice as fierce in the hands of this shadow creature.

"What happened to Dark? Why's he look so monstrous now?" Julane asked quietly to her mother, somewhat fearful. Reseray looked to her child indifferently. "This is his natural form as a shadowborn. Ganondorf had created a human appearance to cover his more demonic form. He gave him that human form to make him seem more daunting as a wolf in sheep's clothing." She said and Julane bit her thumbnail in nervousness. The air in the room had become colder and heavier.

"Before I kill you, I will grace you with the name of your executioner I, Traysa will put you to death." She said, as she dashed at Dark. "Too bad. I'd rather you die nameless." He said, and this time he anticipated her great speed. He ducked quickly as she aimed to behead him swiftly with a single swing of her long sword. Dark launched a kick to her gut, which caught her as she rushed and slashed at him. He then swung his blade swiftly diagonally downward to the left, trying to catch her in her top right shoulder with his blade. She quickly evaded and lunged forth again with a series of thrusts. Dodging the first two, he slapped aside the last and launched a knee at her. It hit and sent her reeling back. He charged her, now on the offensive.

As he ran, he leaped at her and brought his sword swinging down with amazing force. She saw this coming, and rolled out of the way. She charged him, to launch a blow to knock his blade from his hand. Dark turned to see her running, and she launched a dropkick aimed to disarm him and hopefully crush some ribs. Just before contact, Dark disappeared into dark mist and rematerialized in the same place. Traysa was a few feet away, her momentum from running having launched her a few feet from her target.

She rolled aside swiftly as he turned and charged her. He thrusted his blade towards her skull, the blade meeting with the stone instead of her face, as she had narrowly evaded once again. As she got up, she swung a leg at Dark, causing him to tumble onto his back. Swinging her blade overhead, she aimed to cut his head off again. He rolled away quickly, becoming mist again and reforming standing up. "I had higher expectations of you. First in command, and my mother got closer to beating me." He said, and Traysa panted angrily.

"Reseray! What is his weakness!" She exclaimed and Reseray paused, having been posed a difficult decision. "Don't answer that, mother." Dark and Julane said at the same time. Reseray grit her teeth while frowning. Here was the conflict once again, duty and family. Would she be the reason her son is killed, or become a traitor? Her eyes looked pained. "Reseray! Answer me! This is a command!" Traysa shouted. Dark looked to his mother, his crimson eyes filled with a compelling sadness. "Don't tell her, please." He implored.

Reseray clutched her head. "Magic, it's magic!" She exclaimed and Dark looked to her, jaw agape. "Why? Why'd you tell her!?" Julane exclaimed, grabbing her mother by the shoulders and shaking her. "Brother is going to die now!" She shouted, full of anger. Reseray's expression was filled with pain. For the first time in Julane's life, she saw a tear drop from her mother's eyes. "I have to, it's my duty. But... but..." She started stuttering, and Julane watched her mother for the first time break down and drop to her knees, distraught between .

Julane kneeled before her poor mother. The woman had been practically been brainwashed by the Gerudo code. Julane pressed her mother to her chest, hugging her. It had been said that Reseray had been born with a curse. Every child died during birth, inexplicably. Her past was filled with the pursuit of a family; searching for the man to give her a child worth the Gerudo race.

Gerudos were thieves, warriors, amazing horse riders, and above all; sirens. They never accepted men into their realm, but often seduced hylian warriors to create suitable children. The Gerudo race was inherently female; any child they bore always resembled their race, despite their heritage.

Reseray though, after many trials, could never bear a child. Saddened and her world become dark, she accepted a small orphan about to be thrown into the wild from lack of skill. Instead, Reseray took it upon herself to shoulder Julane as her responsibility. She rose through the ranks of Gerudo quickly, enough to warrant her the investigation of Ganondorf. She proved to be a superior fighter and caster than nearly any Gerudo out there. Ganondorf then place Dark Link in her possession.

She trained both of them. Both became amazing fighters, both skilled in ways of magic and swordplay. Once Dark was taken from them, Julane refused to do her duties, and was demoted. The only thing that kept her from exile was her mother. Reseray lost her heart when Dark was taken and Julane lost faith in the Gerudo race for what they had done to her family.

She immersed herself in her duty; she became second in command quicker than most anticipated, even almost overtaking Traysa. Now, the duty-bound woman had even given the secret of her son's weakness away. Her will, her soul, her heart... it had all broken under her responsibility and pain. Now she would soon lose her son to the thing that had become her life.

"Don't you dare die!" Julane exclaimed to her brother as her mother seemed to be lost in a stupor. Dark looked to Traysa. "You, this is your fault! You're the reason why my mother is so hurt, lost in this twisted duty you force onto her. You, you're just like Ganondorf. You push and force people in being enslaved against their will." Dark exclaimed, and Traysa smiled. "No, she enslaved herself willingly. She had nothing to live for once you were taken, if a fault is to be given, it's yours." She said, and Dark scowled. "Liar. Even if that was once true, I'm here to shatter the cages of any prisoner enslaved by a fate that they don't deserve. Which means you're going to die." Dark said with a furious indignation.

Flashes of faces blurred his mind. Malon, trapped to loving a man who'd never return her feelings, who'd never even be the friend she direly needs. Link, trapped to being the slave of the Goddesses, to kill the King of Evil. Sheik, bound to her duty as a Sheikah, and his mother, locked away in a world where she no longer wished to be. He wanted to free them all, pry apart the bars that imprisoned each of them.

"I will break anything that stands between those I care about and freedom!" Dark shouted, enraged. As he shouted, his dark form melted away, bringing his human form to the surface. His heart ached with a fury, and he felt his spirit lifting. Light surged in his heart, and grew in his eyes. He held his blade before himself, as he felt a sudden and strange metamorphasis occuring in himself.

Traysa looked on to Dark. His clothes began to shift from black to gray, his ashen hair becoming snow white. His eyes faded from a blood red to a soothing sunset-orange. His blade remained the same, as it wasn't part of himself, but a dark creation formed from the shadow of the Master Sword. Dark felt the darkness in his mind fading, and instead, a happiness replaced it. A pure bliss filled Dark's mind. No, he didn't find that name suitable to himself any longer. Requaem was his name.

"Let's have a proper duel, alright?" Requaem said, holding out his blade in front of himself with a bow and a confident smirk. Traysa looked to him strangely, his entire aura having changed. The hatred and anger had transformed to a dangerous kindness. His outrage had caused an awakening in himself? Traysa was confused, but got to her feet quickly. She walked towards him, and he held one hand behind his back, the other out front holding his blade. His smile was coy and cordial and unnerved her more than that of the devil that she had fought before.

Elsewhere, Link was halfway to the colossus. It was a long and laboring trek across the desert and he had finally made his way through the toughest part. Running forward, he could see the temple on the horizon. As he rushed forward, he felt a sudden lurch in his chest. He felt to his knees, his heart aching. It felt as if he had a sudden heart-attack. It slowed it's beating, and breathing became pained. His hair that fell in his eyes became a darker brown, his eyes descending from blue to a stone gray, darkness building in his eyes.

His clothes darkened to a deep hunter green, almost black. Navi flew out of his hat. "Link, are you ok!? I stopped sensing your life... oh my- Link, what's happened!?" She asked, seeing his sudden change in appearance. Link's mind swarmed with evil thoughts. Malon, how she annoyed him with her clingy nature. Zelda, with having forced him into this unwanted destiny... Saria. His first love, why was she taken from him? Why did she have to become a sage? His life was filled with thing he could never had had.

He turned his eyes to Navi. She froze in mid-air. His blue eyes... now were a chillingly violent slate color. She could feel the hatred he bore, and why couldn't she sense his life anymore? It was as if he had died right there. She flew close to his face to check if he was still alive, and he growled at her. "Get away from me." He scowled, trying to beat her away. "No!" She exclaimed, trying to get closer to him. "Don't let go of yourself, Link! Don't give in to the darkness!" She exclaimed, and Link landed a successful hit. "I am myself, you irritating candle." He shot venomously at her, and her light dimmed in sadness. "Link..." She called out weakly, in desperation. What had happened to him all of a sudden to become like this? What dark sorcery had been cast on Link?

Traysa dashed at Requaem, launching speedy blows. Requaem deftly moved each aside or stepped back a step to avoid literally an inch of steel piercing a quicker attack, she managed to open up his defense. "Uh-oh!" He said as she shot a blast of fiery magic at him. Quickly, he slapped it aside with his hand, as he let loose a white flash of magic when the fiery magic hit his hand.

His hand was scorched black, and he looked to it disdainfully. "That wasn't very nice. I thought you were going to represent your race's dignity in this battle?" He asked, and Traysa scowled at him. "What the hell! You were a demon a moment ago, what's going on?" She asked, and Requaem merely shrugged with a smile. "I don't know." He said, smirking now. "But, I can't lose. My mom and everyone are depending on me." He said with a smile, as he took another fighter's stance. He rushed her but she let loose a wall of flame as he neared. He crossed his arms in from of his face while creating a wall of light to combat the flame wall that washed over him.

His clothes were scorched, and he felt fatigue setting in. "Well, it seems I'm going to have to stoop to your level to survive this." He said as he smiled cordially again. "Don't blink." He said as he suddenly disappeared and reappeared in front of her. He drove a fist into her stomach and then crossed over his right jab to her stomach, letting loose a left hook across her jaw. After reeling backwards, she looked at him with a look of awe on her face. Somewhere between half a second ago, he had his blade out. Now, it was sheathed. Was he really that fast?

She set her blade aflame now, along with her left fist. Requaem stood before her, dancing on his feet, his fists raised. "Ah, serious now?" He said, and she kept her eyes on her. If she blinked, she'd lose track of him. He stood, dancing around while throwing mock jabs at his invisible opponent. "Stop fooling around! Do you think I'm kidding!?" She exclaimed and just as she blinked, she saw that familiar devilish smile appear on his face. Shit. He was gone.

She whirled around, swinging her blade and fist wildly as if she were warding off a fire-wary beast. Requaem dodged and leaped backwards, avoiding any more contact with even the aura of her spells. She thrust a fist forward, launching a spiral of fire. Requaem blinkstepped to the side, and she swung her blade, causing a slice of fire launch out at him. He leaped over this, and she pound the ground with her fist.

Suddenly, a spiral of fire appeared underneath him. Being in mid-air, there was no way for him to avoid this. Even his strange ability to move at breakneck speeds meant nothing in midair. He pressed his arms and legs close to his chest, somersaulting while surrounding himself with more white-hot magic to deflect the magic that could easily destroy him.

He diverted the wave of fire with his barrier but was still unable to avoid all of it's wrath. He landed on his feet, face severely charred and burnt, raw pink flesh showing. His legs had become feeble, the blasted magic working too well on him, as usual. He felt himself giving out. The bliss in his mind was fading too... the darkness of death was clouding his vision.

Elsewhere, Sheik walked through the woods of her village, alone. She rarely ever left her house, but she was feeling strangely happy at the moment as if nothing could ever bother her right now. She smiled through her face mask at the sky, while the sun smiled back down on her. What was she so happy about? Was it Dark? Was it because she nor he was alone anymore?

She sat against the base of a tree, enjoying being outdoors for once. From behind her though, she heard a strange wispy voice. "Very unusual to see you outdoors, Sheik." The voice that sounded like the wind said. Sheik didn't jump to her feet with a weapon ready like usual. She remained calm, and looked around the base of the tree.

"Hello there, Master Gale." She said happily, patting the grass, inviting him to sit with her. He looked at her, incredibly thrown off. "Well, very peculiar. I will accept your request, seeing as this may be the only time you'll ever offer your company to another." He said with a laugh that coalesced with the wind shaking the leaves of the trees over head.

"Master, why am I so happy?" She asked and Gale looked to her. He was the head of the entire hidden Sheikah village. The Sheikahs were an entirely shadowed race, hidden somewhere between the borders of Hyrule, the Lost Woods and the Shadow Realm. It was like a world in limbo, devoid of seasons or change. Just lofty trees and gentle breezes.

"Well..." He began while slowly blinking his mist-white eyes. He wore a long white robe, bound to his waist with a thick white cloth, the only thing other than white being the crimson insignia of the Sheikah tribe on his waist-belt. His hair too, was long and pure as the white robes he wore. "...do you have any idea?" He asked softly.

She shook her head. He nodded, blinking. Sheik was perhaps one of his favorite subjects in the Sheikah village. She had wanted nothing to do with this race, this world, or anything, until the day Ganondorf took over. She then became enraged by such a deed and her true skill flourished as a great Sheikah was needed.

"Chances are you're in love then." He said. Sheik's face burned red. "What!? No, I as a Sheikah am not allowed nor will feel love." She said, spewing the Sheikah mantra. Gale laughed lightly and sofly like the gentle wind again. "Sheik, love will happen for you. Between you and me, once you've completed this mission, you'll be free. The Elders and I have decided that as part of your reward, you'll be granted freedom from the tribe, which is usually unattainable otherwise, unless by exile. You'll be granted the highest honor. Higher than even mine. No longer will you be burdened by our tribe's heritage. We decided it is your gift for rising to the occaision and aiding the salvation of Hyrule." He said, and she looked to him and then to the ground.

She requested that as a reward just as she chose to undertake this mission. Even the most hardened Sheikah declined such a risky mission. Sheik thought back to the day that this mission was announced.

Gale stood before an assembly of every Sheikah in his village. He stood before them with his three advisors, the next most powerful Sheikah beneath him. They each wore robes of pure white as well. _Ganondorf has entered the sacred realm after the Hero unlocked it when he removed the Master Sword. He's now in possesion of the Triforce of Power, where none thought it would be reached. He knows Zelda bears the Trifoce of Wisdom. He doesn't know, thankfully, that the Hero bears the Triforce of Courage. Who is willing to take up the mission of aiding the Hero? He needs to learn the songs that lead to the temples that guard the medallions. Those are CRUCIAL to his success. Without these songs that the Royal Family has passed to us for safe keeping, he will never reach all of the medallions. We need a Sheikah to relay these songs to him._ He said.

Saying this created the general reaction of nodding from the Sheikah of the assembly. Sheik was off near a tree, laying on her side, leaning on her palm while flicking a piece of grass. Her eyes showed that she was bored out of her mind.

_Doing this will be a great service to the Royal Family, and namely Zelda and the Hero. But, this will put you at great risk of attack by Ganondorf. At the names of Zelda, Sheik's ears twitched. Looking around the base of her tree, she saw Gale, with Impa off to the side of Gale, hidden in the shadows. Impa was the best Sheikah in all of history. Quite possibly more powerful than even Gale. She was the master of the village before Gale took her place. She left at the request of King Harkinian, to protect his daughter, who was chosen as the vessel for the Triforce of Wisdom_.

_Zelda is being hidden here, with Impa as her guardian. We have added extra cloaking to the village to keep Ganondorf's prying eyes from discovering us. But we cannot rely on this cloaking forever. Ganondorf will eventually discover the location of Zelda, within our village. This cannot be allowed to happen. Which is why we require a volunteer for this mission.  
_  
_Whoever chooses this mission will also pose as princess Zelda, to keep Ganondorf's attention from this village. We're too close to the shadow realm. Should he discover her hiding here, we would almost immediately be overwhelmed. Who accepts this mission? Gale called out. The Sheikah all around looked to each other, murmuring. Sheik looked disdainfully to all of them. They'd refuse such a great honor! If they succeeded, they'd become legend._

But becoming a legend was not what Sheik wanted to do more than anything. She could care less about this foolish village and how they thought of her. They only thought of her as the useless child of an affair, and a burden to the village. She didn't even have a proper name. No one ever named her and she never received a proper Sheikah christening. They just gave her a name derived from the name of her race. It was like being named tree. All that she wanted to do most, was to meet Zelda. The village was nothing to her.

Gale looked to his Sheikah, disappointed. _None of you want to undertake this mission? Doing it would be a great honor and service to all of Hyrule._ Gale said, and still, no answer. At this time, Sheik was only a child of a tender twelve years. She stood up from behind the tree, and walked towards the crowd of Sheikah.**_ I will._** She called out, strongly and defiantly over the entire crowd. They all turned and looked to the small sheikah in ragged Sheikah clothing. They all immediately burst into laughter.

Sheik turned bright red, and pulled her headwrap over her eyes, folding her arms defiantly. She refused to let a little embarassment stop her from spiting the entire village and meeting Zelda. _Are you sure? It is surely a difficult mission._ Gale asked, and she nodded, still hiding her face in embarassment. **_Yes, sir!_** She called out again, in a firm voice that made some of the adult Sheikah stare at her oddly. She showed courage they didn't even have. But was this courage, or stupidity?

_Come forth, brave Sheikah._ He said, and she stepped through the crowd that parted for her. She adjusted her hat, as she realized the resounding laughter had ended and she was being looked at with a strange form of admiration. _Good luck, kid._ A veteran Sheikah said, as she walked by. Standing before the head elder, he held out his hands to her. Understanding that he was a blind man, and wanting to appraise her through touch, she placed her face against his hands.

His hands were smooth and light. They felt as if water were pouring over her skin. He felt her face's features, and nodded._ You are a perfect match for this mission. You have a very strong quality about yourself. Understanding this mission's danger, you accept, young one?_ He said, and Sheik nodded. **_Yes, sir!_** She said again, and he smiled. _Then, you will be taught combat and the melodies of the temples by Impa, the former guard of the now deceased King Harkinian. What is your name?_ Gale said, as Impa stepped forth from the shadows, her normal serious demeanor on her face. **_Sheik, sir._**

The Sheikah looked around at one another. He didn't mention being trained by Impa! Impa, the legendary Sheikah leaving all her skill to that brat? It caused a slight uproar in the crowd. _Silence, cowards._ Impa called out cruelly._ You all have less courage than a child. This age, is an age of children. The Hero is a child, and the Princess is a child. Those two, with the help of this child, will overthrow the King of Evil in years to come. I will ensure that this happens, even if the cost is of my own life._ She said, and they all looked to the young Sheikah, with now growing respect instead of disdain. They began applauding Sheik instead, which embarassed her as well.

_Come, we go to visit the Princess. She will be our guest during training. Impa said, taking Sheik's hand._ Sheik looked to Impa strangely. Her hand felt familiar... was this what her mother's hand might have felt like? Did her mother ever care about her? She scoffed. Her mother hated her, from the very moment that she was born. Why else would she and her father dump her off in the Sheikah village and run from their responsibility?

_You will be forever heralded as a hero, even if you don't succeed this mission, young one._ Gale said to Sheik as the three walked to their destination. She scoffed. I don't want to be a hero. She said, and Gale looked at her inquisitively. What do you desire then? He asked, and Sheik lowered her eyes. **_I want to disappear from this world and be given a new life._** Gale was silent. _I don't know if we can do that._ Sheik was silent an her expression darkened.

_Young one, I'm sour enough for the two of us._ Impa said, with a smile that didn't seem to fit her face. Sheik looked to her, and understood what she meant. For a moment, Sheik laughed. _That's better. We're almost there, too._ She said, as Sheik realized that in her thoughts, she had been lead through a forest maze.

Eventually they reached a small cottage in the middle of the forest. There she was, knitting while sitting on a rocker. Princess Zelda. She looked up to Sheik and Impa._ Is this going to be my lookalike? She fits my size and appearance well._ She said with a quaint smile. Sheik was speechless. Sheik had always wanted to be like and one day meet Princess Zelda. She wanted to be a princess like her, and not some filthy castaway in a forest where she was the servant.

Impa nodded._ And she has great potential to be a powerful Sheikah. Gale even believes her to be a worthy choice._ She said, and Princess Zelda smiled weakly, looking to her with piercing blue eyes. _She's a sad child though._ She said, with pitying eyes. Sheik scowled, and pulled her headwrap over her eyes again. **_What do you know?_** She said angrily. Then she felt arms embracing her. It was Zelda.

_I know what it's like to be sad, and to feel the untold pains of sorrow... but please, I've seen enough sadness to last two lifetimes. Let's try to smile through this, shall we?_ She asked, as she pulled away from Sheik. She lifted her headwrap out of her eyes to see that she was sobbing quietly. Shiek had never felt something like that before. Pure compassion. After having cried for a short time, _Impa spoke. It is now time to begin training. She said, and Sheik nodded.  
_  
Sheik returned to the future. Her happiness doubled with this news. She even went to lengths of hugging Gale. He was thrown off but returned the hug like a father would, patting her on the head with a light hand.

Sheik then let loose a sharp yell of pain. It felt as if her skin was crawling. "What's wrong!?" Gale asked, holding her shoulders tightly. Sheik felt as if she was burning alive. "He's... dying!" She said, as she writhed in pain. She could feel the flames burning his body. "Goddesses, send him your power..." Gale said while he chanted light spells to sedate the pain she felt.

Traysa laughed hysterically while she launched volley after volley of flames at Dark. He deflected the main brunt of the magic's wrath, but the effect was still wearing through. His power was wearing thin as well. He panted heavily. What was he going to do? The bliss was ending, he could feel himself returning to his old miserable self. No! He didn't want to be like that ever again! He had to use the last of his power to end this and retain that happiness.

He had maybe enough power for a blinkstep. He'd have to use it when she'd least expect him to retaliate, and use that moment to win this battle. It was all or nothing. If he failed, everything he had done would have been for absolutely nothing.

This next attack would connect for a split second and cause an explosion from the collision of magics. At that very moment, his attack would begin. As she wound up to throw another blow, the world seemed to slow down. His fiery end would become reality if he let the entire thing connect, so he had to time this perfectly. The fires licked the air angrily, trying to consume all around it. It finally connected with his chest, and he let loose a terrible shout of pain. Over the searing pain, he focused on his accelerated movement.

He managed to disassemble into mist and then move his particles around every molecule of fire, and reform quickly at Traysa's side. Parts of his cheekbone were showing, he could feel the damage the fire had done to him. But he had been tortured like this by Ganondorf to become strong. He would not let his adventure end here. Traysa looked slowly to Requaem, her arm still extended. She began to retract it to throw a followup flame attack, but Requaem grasped her wrist before she could do so. Then, with his other arm, he unleashed an elbow to her chest. She doubled over, breathless. He then threw her to the ground, pressing his foot to her throat. He crouched his blade ready to brought down to her head and end this struggle.

_Do it._ The male's dark voice whispered in his ear. Requaem felt obliged to do so, knowing that this woman would be someone he'd need to end to ensure his family's safety. _Crack open her skull and spread her brains out for all to see. She'll ruin your life, she'll kill your family._ The female cackled with shrieks of excitement. Requaem kept his stronghold on her throat, even while the pain compelled him to kill her.

He resisted. "No, I won't kill you. You can live in shame forever in knowing that all your might was nothing compared to my will." He said, and he relieved his boot from her throat. "Try and kill me and my family. They will be close to me at all times and I will kill any who dare lift a finger to them. But you, I will keep alive. You'll spend every day hating yourself because you failed and I let you live. No matter what you do or try to stop me, the outcome will remain the same; Ganondorf will die and I will free anyone from the ties that bind them." Dark said, and Traysa looked to him bitterly.

He had returned to his normal appearance, of gray hair and red eyes and walked away from him. She was dumbstruck and disgusted at herself. She was weak. Looking to him, he was hugging his mother tightly, telling her he forgave her. "It doesn't matter, Im alive still, mom." He said with a weak smile. Reseray looked to him with a smile, hugging him tightly. Reseray looked so happy, even over the tears at the wounds she had caused... did Traysa have any right to withhold her from this happiness?

"I concede." She said, standing up and lowering her eyes in shame. Dark looked to her, and bowed in return. "Seeing you and your mother, and your will to defeat me and become free is... inspiring at least." She said, with a slight tone of respect. "I've realized that there's more to duty then obeying your orders. I have to obey my duty as a human being. I've done terrible things, and I've refused to acknowledge it until now. You've shown me my evils, and made me face them. If there is any way I can help you, please tell me." She said, still ashamed. Dark smiled, glad he had made a change in Traysa.

"Well, if you could lead me to the Desert Colossus, and arrange a place to hide my family from Ganondorf." Dark said, and Traysa smiled seductively. "But of course... and if you're ever in need of a mate... you're the perfect spouse to breed the perfect warrior." She said, licking her lips. Dark's face became red, and Julane grabbed him by the back of his neck. "C'mon, pervert. We'll wait for Traysa's escort to the Desert Colossus at our house. That and me and mother have things to discuss with you." She said, and Dark nodded, stuttering. "Of-of-of of course!" He said, and Traysa waved goodbye to Dark.

Dark grinned weakly and waved back until dragged around the corner by his sister. "Men." She said, discouragingly.


	10. A Dark Link to the Past

Dark had passed out shortly after leaving the commander's had dragged him from the Stronghold to their house, nestled in the area where Gerudos built their homes and spent their time while they were off-duty. They were given strange looks from the other Gerudos who were curious as to who that male was. Some seemed to recognize him, but couldn't remember who exactly he was.

He had fainted from the sheer amount of pain, and had fallen into a stasis where he would self-heal. Reseray and Julane lifted him into his own bed, laying him down in the darkness, as the shadows seemed to writhe around in the room, joined with his skin to repair the damage.

A doctor had accompanied them, by the orders of Traysa, and she looked at Dark inquisitively. "He isn't really human, except in the sense that he looks like one and may have the same functions as one. What sorts of medicine will work, or even if medicine will be accepted by his body or act as a poison instead, is wholly unknown. I think it'd be best to simply let the darkness take care of him, as they are now." The doctor said, looking at the strange being laying on the bed. The doctor turned and left, leaving the two Gerudos in the room alone with Dark.

"So mother... what do you think about Dark's aspirations?" She asked tentatively, as they stood in the bedroom. Her mother was silent, venturing down the hall, away from the bedroom. Julane followed "Which ones?" Reseray asked, having regained her distant demeanor. "Of destroying Ganondorf." She said, and Reseray's eyes became sharp. "It's a foolish concept. He's not the Hero. He should stay here with his family..." She said, clenching a fist as they sat down at the family table in the living room. "He wants to protect us though... if he's caught here, what do you think will happen to us?" Julane asked.

Reseray growled. "Then we stand and fight like the proud Gerudo we are! I won't stand by and let my life be taken from me a second time..." She said and Julane was silent. "I'm not so sure he'd agree with putting you in danger, mother." She said, and her mother silenced her. "Enough." Reseray demanded, her eyes peering over her veil at the table. "No more talk of his plans. I just want to enjoy having my entire family in one piece again." She said, as the two waited silently outside of his room, for him to awaken from his stasis.

There was no dreaming for Dark this time. All was silent, not a single thing pervading his mind. He felt dead, but he felt the warmth of life still within. As long as that warmth remained, he knew that the sense-dulling pain that he was experiencing would fade... and slowly, surely, the pain was fading. Eventually, after what felt like an existence of waiting, the pain faded entirely and Dark's eyes opened.

He was in his old bedroom. It was humbly furnished, and bore the simple things he'd need as a child. Dark explored every corner of his room. He felt as if he was travelling through time. Memories were gently coursing into his mind, of him grabbing toys, getting dressed to play with the neighbors, and being read night-time stories by his mother. Dark sat on his bed, and looked to the corner of his room. A small steel sword and shield lay there, collecting dust besides his new sword and shield. It seems that nothing had been touched since the moment he had left.

He stood up slowly, his body aching. He decided to take a look around. Like he suspected, there were images of him with his surrogate mother and sister in his room as well. He looked so happy then, without a care in the world, or realizing what he was bred to become. A machine. He placed the picture face down, not wanting to see his once happy face. That face had been long lost, he didn't want to be reminded of what he hadn't had in what felt like eons. Reseray and Julane sat at a table that was positioned slightly offset from the door by a few feet.

Silently, Dark continued to explore like a child who had discovered a new part of the neighborhood. He then found something odd upon his dresser besides the ancient black and white family photos. It was a book with the word "DIARY" etched onto it with what seemed to be a knife. Dark immediately flipped it open. It detailed his days for many years, and Dark spent minutes poring over his documented past. He sounded so unbearably happy then. Now he was nothing more than a miserable shell of his former self. He sighed, skipping a few years and reading up to the last entry. He wanted to know what he had written before he was taken by the King of Filth.

Mother tells me that today I get to become a real Gerudo! Our King is going to come and take me on a vacation and make me a prince! Mother told me he's going to give me all the toys and anything I could ask for! He's going to be the father I never had, I can't wait to meet him tomorrow! Mother seems sad about me leaving though, but I told her I'd write her every single day. I'm going to miss her, but this seems like a great new adventure!

Dark felt himself crying heavily. He wished he could go back in time and meet his former self. Just to tell him what was going to happen, and tell him to run far far away, away from the evil man. He was filled with such childish innocence, why was he put through such a painful existence?

He remembered the first few days at Ganondorf's castle, and his induction as a was tortured the entire day. He recalled shouting, calling for his mother to put the searing pain to an end. Ganondorf laughed at him, spat in his face, telling him that only his hatred would free him. Days of nonstop pain, searing, burnt flesh, being stabbed and flayed... it was an unending torture.

He remembered how glad he was to be put in the temple. The trauma was so much he blocked everything out about his past. Nothing mattered to him except his objective. Dark cried long and hard in his closed room. The agony of his past brought him to tears. He knew everything now. How his heart ached. Wiping his tears, he placed the diary in his small rucksack he kept hidden under his shield. He then donned his equipment, and stepped out of his room, peeking around the corner.

There was another Gerudo talking to his family, in a loud tone. She had messy shoulder length red hair, and wore white shorts and a vest of the same hue. She had stopped talking as he entered the hallway, and Reseray pointed around her, towards Dark. "He's right there."

She whirled around, a pair of deep blue eyes filled with excitement. "REQUAEM!" She squealed, charging at him. She tackled him to the ground, and Dark struggled to pry the Gerudo off of him. "Who are you?" He asked, unable to pry her off of him. His whole body felt like it was going to break, especially in his weakened state. She was strong. Very strong. "You don't remember me? I was your old playmate back when you were tiny! You were smaller than all the girls, you were so embarassed!" She said with a heart chuckle. She relinquished him, and lifted him by the shoulders and placed him on his feet.

"It's Reiche!" She said, and suddenly the name jarred memories in his head. He leaped back. "YOU! You were a monster! You were an incessant bully to me!" He exclaimed, and Julane scoffed, choking on her cup of water. "Yeah, that's because you were too much of a wimp to hit a girl, and I made you cry all the time." She said with a chuckle. Dark glared at her. "Either way, I'm the Stronghold's beast-tamer. I heard you were back, so I decided to give you the present you never got the year that Ganondorf took you away." She said, excitedly.

Dark blinked. "Gift?" He asked, and she nodded, punching him in the chest heavily, evincing an 'oof!' from Dark. "Yeah, a gift, numbskull!" She said, and Dark looked to his mother. "Go ahead." She said, and Dark began to follow Reiche. "You sure he should go? He just recovered. It's only been about a day, mother..." Julane asked Reseray as Dark left. Reseray sipped some water from her cup. "It's not a big deal. Requaem is a strong boy." She said, and Julane sighed, looking to the crystalline liquid in her cup.

"You still ask your mommy for permission? Aren't you a man?" She asked, shoving him." She said, aiming to insult his ego.

Dark scowled. "Give it a break before I get revenge for you being a pain in my ass as a child." He said, and she stopped, and looked at him with a challenging smile. "Oh yeah? Wanna try me?" She said, pulling her hair back in a ponytail. "I've wrestled dondongos bigger than you." She said with a vicious grin. Dark cracked his neck. "Problem is you don't know how big of a monster I am." Dark said, with a devious laugh.

Only problem was that he was too feeble at the moment to put on a full bodied fight, so Dark decided to play it dirty. She rushed him, and as he expected, she went to grapple him. Although thin, this woman was built of pure strength. As she made contact, and attempted to put him into a headlock, he dissipated into dark mist, like he had done versus Traysa. He then reappeared behind her, and drove all of his force into an elbow directed at the base of her neck.

With a sickening crack, Reiche fell to the ground. Dark wiped the sweat from his forehead. "I'm too tired right now, girl. Can we not fight?" He said, knowing that she was about to get up. She rubbed her neck and stood up, like he had expected. "Wow, Requaem. You got stronger. I wasn't expecting that at all, how'd you do that?" She asked, inquiring about the mist ability.

"Well, it's helpful when you're not entirely human. I'm sort of half and half. Good old Ganondorf took a human vessel and took the darkness that the Hero had cast off and created me. So physical harm doesn't really do much to me, and I'm naturally apt to magic. But I just got back from getting beaten by the Commander, and I just woke up." He said, breathing slightly heavily. Gerudos nearby looked on in awe.

Reiche was commonly accepted as the strongest hand to hand combatant of all the Gerudo. To have been knocked to the ground and stunned, even momentarily, by another, was unheard of. They began to murmur more and more, and Dark started to hear his name. "They starting to remember me?" He asked, Reiche cracked her neck. "Apparently. Who wouldn't? You were the only male around in the past, and now you're starting to show how good of a warrior you are. You're bound to draw a lot of attention from the females looking for mates. I'd suggest you keep your junk hidden. Don't wanna get raped." She said, forcibly patting him on the crotch as she walked by, causing Dark to cringe, with a very uncomfortable look on his face. "Don't do that. Just bring me to this gift already." He said, while wondering what 'raped' meant.

She nodded with a chuckle, and she led him across the grounds, to what seemed like a stable. He wiped the sweat from him, the sun bearing down on him wearing down his endurance. Without his usual amount of power, he was vulnerable to the wraths of nature. Walking into the stable, there was no animals. "Uh, my gift is an empty stable?" He asked, and Reiche clubbed him in the side of the head. "No, silly! It's a horse!" She said, throwing his limp half-unconscious body across the stable.

At the very end of the stable was a lone horse, with a coat of pure black, and eyes of shadow. The horse itself seemed to be a creature of darkness, akin to Dark. "Ganondorf gave this horse to me when he was but a colt. He told me it was to be a secret and because he didn't trust my mother, he entrusted the horse to me, the successor to the former beast-tamer of the Stronghold." She said, with a pause as she pet the mane of the black horse.

"I was told that he was a gift for you, so I figured when you turned ten, I'd give him to you. Turning ten was a big deal when you were a kid, you were so excited. He was my first creature to tame, and boy was he difficult. Only later in my life did I realize that this horse was being of darkness. Perhaps Ganondorf intended on giving him to you once you killed the Hero. In my own opinion, he might've been waiting til you really became the Dark Prince and took your place besides Ganondorf as rulers of all Hyrule. He never told me what to do with the horse, so I decided that he'd be yours." She said, a strangely serious expression gathering on her face.

Then her usual joyful face reappeared. "But good thing that isn't happening! I never trusted that big ol' ugly dude. Glad you chose the path you wanted. Well, there's your belated birthday gift!" She said, leaving the stable, with Dark and the horse all alone. Dark walked over to the creature. It snorted at him, and Dark placed a hand on it's muzzle. "Whats your name?" He asked the horse, and the horse simply shook his head, throwing Dark's hand off.

"Don't have one?" He asked, and the horse snorted at him again. Within his mind, the shadow being within the horse communicated with him. You have no name, either, Shadowborn. All Shadows have nothing. The horse said to him. "How depressing. How about Maelstrom? Light never escapes a maelstrom." He said, and the horse looked to him. Are you listening? Shadows have nothing. He said, and Dark laughed. "That's a lie. I have everything. I have a purpose, I have a family. I have friends. I have a future and I have a past. I can share all of those things with you. But you seem intent on staying here, so I'll leave you alone." Dark said, staring into the horse's black eyes, that really seemed like a maelstrom. Silence.

Dark turned and began to leave the stable. Wait. The horse called out to Dark's mind. Are you telling me the truth? He asked, and Dark turned around. "My name is Requaem. I'm also known as Dark Link, as I was born of the evil that the Hero of Time shed. I have a mother named Reseray, a sister named Julane. I have friends, named Sheik and Malon. I'll be your friend, I know what lonliness is like, and I don't want a fellow Shadowborn to suffer like I did." Dark said, feeling sympathy for a creature similar to him.

...I accept your invitation, Requaem. The horse said silently. "Great, Mael. Because I do get lonely on my adventures by myself. Now I'll always have a companion." He said, patting him on the mane. What do you want me to do now? Maelstrom asked, seeming unsure of what to do with this new horizon. "Well, I will be crossing the desert and going to the Desert Colossus soon, but I don't think horses can ride over that sort of rough terrain..." He said, and Maelstrom snorted at him.

I am borne of Shadow, something like the ground won't restrain me. Come for me when we're ready to leave, Requaem. He said, as he strode back over to his own stable. Dark looked back as he left the stable. He then left and reentered his house. "Sit, Requaem." His mother said as she saw him open the door. He nodded, closing the door behind him. He then sat across from Reseray. "What's wrong?" Dark asked. "You plan to fight Ganondorf?" Reseray asked. Dark gulped.

"Yes." He said, after some time of silence. A sharp slap from his mother crossed his cheek. "You will not." She said, her face unveiled for the first time since they had met again. She had a worry-worn face, built up of years wondering how her son was faring. "I have to." He said, and Reseray's eyes watered. "I just got you back, I'm not letting you back out to die!" She exclaimed. Dark was silent.

"It's to protect you all. I have things in this world I want to protect. I have debts I need to pay to his royal highness. I owe him dearly." He said with a venomous scowl. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his sister peeking around the corner of her bedroom. "Don't you care about us? What if you die!? Why not the Hero instead of you?!" Reseray shouted at him. "I do care about you and Julane! That's why I'm doing this! When Ganondorf gets wind that I'm out and about, and that I never did what I was supposed to, guess whose heads will roll!? Mine first, if he can get to me. Then it's you two!" He shouted, standing up.

"I'm going to the Colossus. I need to follow the Hero. He's my key into the Castle that Ganondorf is in. I can't rescue the Sages like he can. Once he opens the path for me, I'm going to rush in and take down Ganondorf before he does. It's his duty on the line, it's my soul and conscience on the line." He said, and his mother looked to him with nothing but anger in her eyes.

"I couldn't stop you if I wanted to. If you decide not to listen to your mother, so be it... under one condition." She said. Dark turned to her. "What's that?" He asked. "You better damn not die. I'm going into hiding once you leave, I won't be safe here anymore." She said. Dark walked over to his mother and kissed her on the cheek. "Don't worry, I can't die. I'll come find you when I'm done." He said with a smile. "Once the escort gets here, then I'll be on my way." He said.

Julane stepped out from her room. "She's already here." She said, tapping the shortsword on her belt. "I'm usually the gatekeeper, and I know the secret that will lead you through the desert." She said with a defiant smile. Dark grinned approvingly. "Sure you can lead?" He asked, and Julane walked past him. "I've been leading before you were born." She said. Dark scoffed as he followed her out.

Reseray wiped her eyes, and looked down to her cup of water. Those two would be fine. She stood up and grabbed a suitcase of things she had packed. Pictures, clothes... her weapons were over her shoulder. She stepped out minutes after the other two had.

As they walked out of the stronghold, Dark whistled. "Maelstrom, we're leaving." He said, and the horse glided out from the stable. "What the? Where did that horse come from?" She asked. Dark scratched his chin. "Reiche had been taking care of him in secret for me. He was created the same way I was. In a sense, this horse is almost as close to being my brother as you are to being my sister." He said, as Maelstrom approached Dark.

Julane almost seemed disgusted to be compared to a horse. "Whatever. Are we riding him into the desert? Horses can't ride through that sand, it consumes anything it touches." She said. Being Shadowborn, I can glide over any surface. Maelstrom said to Dark. "He's got it under control." He said, as he mounted the black horse. Dark held out his hand for Julane to take.

She grabbed his hand and he pulled her to his saddle. "Yah!" Dark shouted, and Maelstrom shot off. His legs moved like a horses would, but there was no sound or sensation of striking the ground, just the rushing of wind. They rushed at the gate, which was already opening. Julane was holding onto Dark for dear life, as the horse was moving far faster than any horse she had ridden before. Looking over the saddle, she saw Maelstrom's hoofs hit the ground, then disappear to mist and reform repeatedly, making it seem like they were really riding on a cloud of darkness.

Julane pressed her face to Dark's back. He wasn't cold or gave off the feeling of death like she imagined he would, but instead felt... warm. She liked the feeling, she wanted to get closer... Wait, what was she thinking?! This was her brother! She focused on the desert ahead. She looked to Dark's face, over his shoulder. He had an expression of pure determination, as if nothing could deter him from his path.

Only death would. And that's what scared Julane and her mother more than anything.


	11. A Feeling Unlike Any Other

The pair glided over the numerous dunes of sand the threatened to swallow up anything that came in contact with it's ravenous surface. "This is amazing, can you do stuff like this, Requaem?" Julane asked and Dark nodded. "Something similar, although I haven't applied it to something like this." He said, patting Maelstrom on the neck.

"Can you actually talk to him?" Julane asked, and Dark nodded. "Yeah. We're both Shadowborn, so we can speak to one another though our minds." He said, and Julane looked to Maelstrom. "What kind of horse is he? Like personality..." Julane asked, curious. "Well, he's pretty bland. Probably from dealing with Reiche and being hidden away all the time. When did you used to get out, anyways?" Dark said, speaking to Maelstrom at the end of his sentence.

_Only whenever it was dark enough to go unseen._ He said, and Dark nodded. "Not very often then. Don't worry, you'll warm up." Dark said with a nod. "Alright little miss leader, where to now?" He asked, as they rode into a sandstorm and Maelstrom began to slow down. Dark squinted against the biting sand, and Julane placed a pair of goggles over her eyes, that she had brought with her.

"Go northwest until you find a flag with a tattered white rag flying from it." She said. Maelstrom seemed to understand her, and head off in that direction. He moved slower, more deliberately than before, apparently understanding the dangers of this desert if they were to get lost. Eventually, they found a post with a flag attached to it. "Perfect. Head due north of that flag post. Then there'll be a series of flags ahead of it, either to the left or right. The dunes are constantly changing, so sometimes they change positioning." She said, and Dark looked to her.

"And you're sure they're reliable?" He asked and she nodded. "More than reliable. They were placed there by some of the very first Gerudo and they understood the desert far better than we do." She said, and he urged Maelstrom forward. While the horse followed her directions, Julane wondered what exactly they were going to do once they got to the colossus. "What's the plan from the Colossus?" She asked.

Dark cleared his throat. "Well, seeing as I am not the Hero, I can't rescue the Sages. That's pretty obvious. A while ago, I was able to go through Link's mind. In his mind I learned of what had to be done to get into Ganondorf's castle. I just didn't think of a solid plan until I met a friend along the way. The castle is suspended by magic over a huge lavafilled crater. The Sages, once all are awakened and rescued, will create a bridge to the castle. The main thing I've been doing is following him as he collects all of the Sage's medallions. If he gets ahead of me and gets into the castle before me, then I'm pretty screwed. Once we get into the castle, we'll be on even grounds and I'll be able to get past him and get to Ganondorf. It seemed they had carved a building out of a large mountain, and had made it a temple.

"Can we walk from here? I want to stretch my legs." Julane said, and Dark shrugged. "Sure. Maelstrom, you can go adventure. Make sure to follow the way in and out though, so don't get lost." He said to the horse, affectionately patting his mane. _I don't get lost._ He said, and Dark chuckled. "Alright. I'll see you later." He said as he turned to the long walk to the base of the Colossus.

They began to walk forward and a mob of strange creatures erupted from the sand. They were large green blobs with numerous spines and spike protruding from their bodies, hungry red mouths filled with teeth atop their amorphous seeming body. "What the hell?" Dark exclaimed as he unsheathed his Anti-Master Sword. Julane unsheathed her short sword, and took a fighting stance. "Common desert monsters. Nothing you shouldn't be able to handle." Julane said with a laugh. Dark rolled his eyes.

With a swing of his blade, he shot out a nearly invisible sliver of shadow energy. It cut effortlessly through three of the green creatures, causing an equally disgusting green blood to seep from their deep wound that cut them in two. Of the six that had appeared, three were already down. "The rest is yours, sis." He said, wanting to see how she'd fare in battle. She leaped at one, quickly delving her blade into it and tearing it out it's side. One rushed her, and she quickly threw a kick that sent it tumbling away. The second one was charging her as well, and she took a deep breath in.

Instead of exhaling, she shouted at the monster, showering it with a cascade of furious red-hot fire. "You're that good of a fighter, yet you're stuck as a gakekeeper?" Dark asked while the third of the monsters fled, burrowing back into the sand. "Yeah, I never did any good as a thief, once the Gerudos showed me what our leader was really like." She said, as they strode towards the Colossus. It wasn't long until they made it to the giant stone building.

"So, you chose to do poorly? Because Ganondorf took me away?" Dark asked. She nodded, sitting down in the sand, against the stone wall of the Colossus, having finally reached it. "Yeah. See, I coped with losing you by rejecting the Gerudo's way of life entirely. Mother was the only reason why I wasn't exiled. She got me the job of Gakekeeper which consists of almost no skill. Mother coped with the loss by embracing the Gerudo way of life and rising through the ranks quickly." Julane said, spitting in the sand.

"Either way, I never liked the concept of stealing for a living." She said, and Dark chuckled. "So what other way would you live by?" He asked, sitting down besides her. "I'd rather not say." She said, and Dark laughed. "That's practically asking me to irritate you until you tell me." He said, and Julane sighed. "A long time ago, when I was a thief, I would instead head to Castle Town, disguised as a merchant. I used to sell things I had made by hand to the people, and I used to sell weapons to the guard. I'd make a tidy profit, keep most of it to myself and give the bare minimum of money to the Commander." She said, and Dark laughed for a good few minutes.

"Oh! That's good. But that means you're an excellent thief! This entire time you've been robbing the race of thieves!" He said, patting her on the back, causing her to blush. She thought at first he was laughing at her, but it was the concept of her stealing from the stealers that made him laugh. "So you want to open your own shop or something?" He asked, and she nodded. "One day, I'd love to. Once, if ever, the Gerudos aren't hated for what Ganondorf did to this world." She said, and Dark nodded.

"What do you plan on doing once everythings all done?" She asked, and Dark opened his mouth, but found himself at a loss for words. "I don't really know." He said, stroking his head under his black cap. "I mean, this entire time I've been focused on one thing, and I've never really stopped to think what I'd do once it was all over." He said, now looking to the sky hoping that the innocent clouds would yield some sort of answer to his question.

"I guess I'll just find a girl to settle down with. Put away my sword and put this bloody life behind me. That seems like it'd be a good idea. A lot more relaxing than this stressful way of life." He said, and looked to Julane whose face had turned slightly red at this discussion. "Do you have any in mind?" Julane asked, her face turning slightly red. Dark slouched against the stone wall. "I know a bunch of girls, since I started adventuring. But I don't know if any of them would want to get together with a nut like me." He said with a wry smile and a chuckle as he pulled his hat over his eyes. He snuggled against the wall, seeming like he was about to take a nap in the hot desert sun.

"I could think of one." Julane said aloud instead of in her mind. Dark lifted his hat so that a single crimson eye was exposed. "Who?" He asked inquisitively. Julane's face erupted red. She wasn't supposed to have said that. She wasn't even supposed to have THOUGHT that. But they weren't really related, so what was the problem? Julane mentally slapped herself and tried to pull it together. "Traysa!" She exclaimed awkwardly.

"Oh yeah, her." He said, pulling his hat over his eyes again. He frowned a little. "I don't know, but something about her is offputting. The concept of just being together to breed a better warrior sounds wrong. I was created to fight and I've hated every moment of it. I don't want to create another poor twisted me. I'd rather have someone who just wants to spend time wih me. A family doesn't need to be involved, but I wouldn't mind bringing a child into this world, as long he or she doesn't suffer like I have. From what I've been informed about child-birth, it's painful but the emotion is something uncomparable to anything. But I don't know much of anything about emotion. If I have experienced anything like love, I sure didn't recognize it." Dark said, and Julane looked to the ground silently.

For a being of such demonic ability, he sure was pure. She thought back to his 'natural' form, the devilish black shadow with hungry looking blazing eyes and fiendish teeth. "...When you turned into that shadow, mother said that was your true form. But talking to you and having spent my childhood with you tells me you're the farthest thing from a demon..." She said, and Dark smiled. "That's nice, but the truth is that I'm a monster. Born and bred from darkness and nurtured on pain and blood. But lately, it feels like I'm becoming more and more human. I get less kick from killing and fighting and discovering friends and family has really begun to affect me. As for what I consider my true form, when I transformed into that shadow, it felt unnatural. I feel cozier in this skin." He said, and his response made Julane feel a lot better.

"So, who are some of the other people that you've met so far?" Julane asked, wanting to catch up with her long lost brother. "Well, I met this giant talking owl, once I broke free from my imprisonment in one of the Temples. He told me to go north, and go into a ranch. Thinking about it now, I wonder who or what that owl was. He led me to this girl named Malon. She taught me what it was like to have a friend and how lonely people are. Even people who are free are still trapped. It drives me insane. I want to crush all the chains weighing people down." He said, and Julane nodded.

"After I met Malon, she told me about how humans reproduce. The concept sounds digusting, but she reassured me that it was pleasurable... or from what she was told it was. She hadn't taken part in "making love" with someone, but her father told her what it was like when she became old enough." He said, in a somewhat awkward tone. Julane seemed uncomfortable about some random human "teaching" him about reproduction.

"After that I met Link for the first time outside of our battle. He's a good guy, but he's thick. He's also struggling with himself and his problems it seems. When I read his mind, I saw a lot of hatred and conflict within himself. It seems that while I'm falling further and further away from my natural dark instincts, he's becoming consumed by it. He's still a good guy though. He's fighting for what's right, that much I can feel." He said, and Julane was curious about the connection between the two.

"So, you're his evil half so to say, right? Does that mean you two are directly connected? Because a person themself are built of good and evil." She said, and Dark nodded. "Yeah. I can feel and sense what he's going through, but only vaguely. If I were to try and delve into him any more than I am connected now, he'd sense it and it'd cause problems. But yes, it seems that me and Link are connected. I'm not sure what'd happen to me if he died, or if I died. Maybe one of us would absorb the remnants of the other and become the dominant half or something. Who knows." He said, with a slight chuckle.

"After that meeting at the ranch, I followed him to a village. When I got there, him and this strange female Sheikah were playing music. It was apparently a song that gave him entrance to the next temple. But once they played the song, it opened the seal in the well, and unleashed a bunch of spirits. They began setting fire to the town, and attacked Link. While I was watching from the sidelines, the Sheikah discovered me. We got into a small fight, and then we ended up talking and becoming friends. We ended up meeting a few more times... and odd things happened." He said, and Julane looked at him dryly.

"A Sheikah?" She asked, her voice losing it's warm quality. "Yeah, a Sheikah. Is something the matter?" He asked, and Julane coughed. "It's nothing. It's just that Sheikah and Gerudo have always hated each other." She said, and Dark lifted his hat again. "Why's that?" He asked. "Well, we were originally supposed to be the Royal Family's guardians, but some bastard Sheikah named Gale cheated us out of our position. Ever since, we've been rivals, hating them and stealing from the Hylians. We also pretty much pushed them out of Hyrule, we used to incessantly raid their villages and kill and rob them of whatever we could get out hands on." She said.

Dark scowled, but was silent. It appeared he was holding back words, and it somewhat unsettled Julane. "Then, I met you all. And here I am. I'm tired though, so I'm going to go to sleep. Wake me up if you hear the Hero leaving. The two were around the bend from the entrance, and the monsters were staying wary of them both.

The sun was beginning to lower on the horizon, and the only sounds to be heard were from the cawing crows flapping their wings overhead. Dark hadn't spoken for a few hours, so Julane figured he was sleeping. But why the sudden change in attitude once she had spoken of the two race's rivalry? She had no idea. As the sun sunk over the sandy dunes, the temperature went from blazingly hot to fiendishly cold. She shivered, having not thought to bring a blanket or heavier clothing for the night's cold.

Dark though, looked incredibly warm. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind... I mean, I'm freezing. I'll have an excuse." She said, as she sidled up besides him, and laid her chest to his back. He was warm, much warmer than sitting all alone against the stone. Quickly, she felt herself falling asleep.

Inside the Colossus, Link had finished off Twinrova. The two screeched in agony, seperated and cawing at one another over trivial things. Link looked to himself. He was still the same. Shortly after having succumbed to the darkness, Navi helped bring him back to his senses. He sheathed his sword and ignored the two wretches that were ironically ascending to heaven instead of sinking to hell.

He remembered himself looking at the fairy he had swatted to the ground. He was filled with anger, with such indomitable hate. But still, that feeble ball of light still gathered itself from the ground and flew towards him again, pressing her warm body against his cheek. "Can you still feel the warmth, Link?" She asked, weakly. Link scowled. "Of course, stupid." He said, and her tone warmed. "Then you're still human." She said, as she weakly tumbled into his lap.

Realizing what he had done, his heart surged with sadness and forced the darkness out. He cradled Navi to his chest and shouted in anger at himself. "What's wrong with me!?" He called out to the endless expanse. As if to answer him, his hair lightened back to blonde, his clothes becoming green once more, and his eyes returning to blue.

Navi jarred him back into his own self, even despite his own inner weakness. He gathered the heart crystal, an object that strengthened his life force, and stepped into blue aura that would transport him out of this hellish Colossus, after he entered the Sacred Realm to awaken the Sage.

Outside, Dark was sleeping soundly. Suddenly, he felt a hand clamp on his face. "Dark, are you awake?" A familiar voice said. "Urmnnnn." Dark grunted, peering through the darkness to see who it was that had shaken his face to wake him. "I take that as a yes." Then the voice seemed to grow angry. "Who's that up against you?" The voice asked, irritated. "Huh? Oh... that's my sister. She must've gotten cold." He said, and he lifted her off of him and laid her against the ground carefully.

He then stood up to feel a hand grasp tightly around his wrist. "Sheik?" He asked into the darkness, and the voice replied with a, "Yes, follow me." She said, and she tugged him around the corner of the Colossus, behind a tall stone pillar standing tall from the sand. "Well, first the necklace, now this. You sure like to be the dominant one, huh?" He asked, poking fun at her. "Shut up." She said forcefully, as she threw him against the stone pillar, grabbing him by the collar.

"I think I'm in love." She said suddenly, after many moments of silence. "What?" Dark asked. "I think I'm in love, are you stupid?" She said again, shaking him. "Alright, calm down! With who?" He asked, and she paused long. "With you." She said, and Dark was quiet. "Oh. Uh, why?" He asked, somewhat thrown off. "I don't know. Seeing you gives me hope, and you fight so damn hard for everything you believe in. I want to be more like you, I guess. I want to be with you all the time, and I'm always thinking about your damn face and what you're up to. I think I love you, but I don't know if I do." She said, feeling entirely awkward.

"How can I figure out if I do?" She asked. Dark was completely confused and thunderstruck. "I don't know, what do people who love each other do alot?" He asked. Sheik was quiet, and then her voice came out from the darkness again, although in a hushed tone. "Kiss?" She asked, and Dark gulped. "Uh, I don't really know how to kiss, if that's where you're going with this..." He said, and he could feel Sheik's breath on his face. "I don't either. But if I do love you, then a kiss would tell me?" She asked, and Dark shrugged. "I guess so. It'd probably help me figure out what this anxiety in my chest is supposed to mean, too." He said, and there was a silence.

"Should I lower your mask?" Dark asked, and Sheik nodded. "Uh-huh." She uttered, and he lowered it from her mouth. She leaned into Dark's face, inching closer and closer by the moment. Eventually her lips brushed his, and Dark felt a heat surge through his body. They stood at this position for a few moments, and eventually Dark grew impatient. "Stop being such a wimp." He said, as he grabbed her by her collar and pulled her in for the kiss. They held each other, locked in a kiss for a few minutes.

They pulled apart and Dark felt his whole body surging with a heat unlike anything he had felt before. "So?" He asked, and Sheik was at a loss for words. Her heart leaped in her chest. "I'm definitely in love." She said, and Dark smiled. "So this is love?" He asked, and she nodded. "Oh, well alright. Here I was thinking something was wrong with me." He said, and she smiled, pulling him in for another kiss.

But suddenly, a shout from the darkness shattered the peaceful moment of bliss. 'REQUAEM?!" A female shouted, and Dark turned to see his sister in the darkness with a visage of fury plastered on his face.

Nothing that Dark could ever remember had ever scared him more than Julane's expression that night.


	12. A Foreshadowing in the Night

Dark cringed at her fury. She said nothing, she just peered at the two who held close to one another in the darkness. In a slow, drawling tone, she asked a simple question. But beneath the simple words were a nearly muderous intent. "..._Who_ is that?" She asked, and Dark looked over to the female Sheik he held in his arms. Sheik began to pull away from his arms.

"Stay right _there,_ filth." Julane demanded, drawing her short sword from the scabbard at her side. "Hey, calm the hell down." Dark demanded, aghast at this random show of violence. "What the hell's your problem, Julane?" He asked and she advanced while Sheik took steps back, drawing a short katana from a sheath on the back of her slim waist.

Dark's eyes darted between the two, watching them draw blades and take fighting stances in the darkness. The silence of the night provided the perfect soundtrack for the two, engaged in a battle of hate. Dark though, didn't understand that there was an animosity between the two races who stood before him.

The Sheikah were the Royal Family's guards, ever since the ancient times. The Gerudo, were the thieves who were always trying to rob the Family. The Sheikah had always gotten in the way of this though. But this was only the surface story. The tale went deeper.

"How dare you, Requaem. To embrace, let alone kiss trash like this... I'll kill her quickly, and we'll forget this ever happened. This filthy moment will never have existed, and our family won't be disgraced." Julane said and Dark looked at her. "What the hell do you mean? I want an explanation! How is she trash? She's saved my life at least twice before!" He exclaimed, and his Gerudo half sister scowled at him. "That's how they always do things. Always conniving, conspiring to steal from you behind your back. They just need to make you trust them first." She said, and Sheik laughed harshly in the darkness.

"Still bitter about the past, Gerudo?" She said, bitterly. Julane became ugly with anger. "Bitter!? Your kind condemned us to the thievery and desert life we have now!" She exclaimed, her hands bursting with flames. Sheik whispered something in another tongue, and her arms began swirling with black clouds of dark energy.

Dark began to get frustrated. He wasn't going to choose between what he believed to be his love, and his family. "Explain yourselves, now." He growled, the darkness carrying his voice to both sets of ears. "The Gerudo is angry at our kind. Our forefathers, according to legends past down in ancient lore and word of mouth tells of the Royal Family's beginning. A single man was powerful enough to unite and control all of Hyrule. He was the forebearer of the Royal Family. He created a kind empire and my forefather and hers were both friends at once, part of the trials to prove who was best for the role of the Ancient King's body guard." Sheik began explaining.

"They worked together throughout the entire trial, which was a sprawling dungeon filled with dangerous monsters. Many had fallen to their doom in that dungeon, and the final two had been my forefather, and hers. Rumor has it he's still alive. His name was Gale, and he tricked my forefather. He gained his trust, and up til the very end fought besides him. At the very end, he betrayed him. He struck him while in mid-battle against the final enemy and took the beast single-handedly, taking the glory for himself!" Julane shouted.

Dark was baffled. What did this matter now? This was hundreds, if not, thousands of years into the past! "What's this have to do with you two?" Dark shouted. Sheik grinned grimly. "Her forefather didn't take well to the theory that he was weak enough to have been taken down unawares and became dark-hearted. He declared a secret war against the Royal Family. He retreated far enough to where the newly forming Royal Armies couldn't reach. He recruited women to join him, trained them to be powerful fighters and skilled thieves." Sheik said, frowning at the past.

"They pillaged and robbed trade caravans, crippling the trade between the other races and the Hylians. Once they had enough money and arms, they declared true war against the Royal Family. Many Hylians and Sheikah were killed. The Gerudos barely suffered losses, but my kind fought hard, and the Hylians proved to be born warriors. The Hylians, defended by the Sheikah, gained the Royal Family time they needed to amass a powerful army. We eventually retreated, and hid... our people nearly entirely slaughtered from such a long war in the open, a war our people were never suited for. The Hylians crushed them and pushed them back to their desert." Sheik said, and Julane growled.

"Where we've been imprisoned since. That unsuccessful war cost us freedom of choice. I'm born into a life where I have to thieve and pillage. It's your fault! It's your damned forefather's fault!" She shouted, face twisted with hate. Dark hated seeing that face on his sister's visage. He knew what the feeling was like. He shouted at his reflection in hate for who he resembled, the man who had indirectly imprisoned. The tone of her voice mingled with the frenzied shouting from his past, a face contorted with unimaginable hatred.

"And it hasn't cost us either? We can't leave our village, or your damned headhunters will be down upon us in mere hours. Because of your race's pathetic inability to let go of an old fued..." She said, her voice becoming quiet and trembling. She then spoke once more, voice strong, and her eyes alight with an anger to match the face of hate Julane wore. "...My mother and father would still be with me, if it weren't for your damned stubborness." She said, her voice full of an anger that was as focused as an archer's aim. She had been lying to herself, that they had just abandoned her, because the truth was far more painful... they had been murdered by headhunters while on a mission from the Elders.

"Then stand still... I'll reunite you with them." Julane snarled as she threw her fist forward, throwing a plume of bright fire at Sheik. She returned the volley of magical energy with the swirling cloud of darkness, and the brightness of the fire clashed with the darkness of the shadow, flaring and dimming as the two elements vied for dominance. Through the elements, the two females charged at one another, clashing blades with such force that the two raging clouds of magic were forced apart and dissipated.

Volleys of strong and swift blows were exchanged, dodged and blocked, blasts of magic being flung at one another as well. Dark looked on, feeling unable to do anything. He couldn't strike either of them, both meant to much to him. As the fight raged on, he felt their will to kill the other intensify. If he left them to their fight long enough, one of the two would be direly wounded. He needed to do something, and quick. As they rushed at one another another time, Dark took a single step and burst into dark particles, reforming in the blink of an eye in the path of both their swings.

_Thud, thunk._ Their blades met flesh and sunk in with the sickening slosh of blood. But the target wasn't who either intended. Sheik had driven her blade into Dark's collar, and Julane's blade found it's place in his stomach. Dark smiled twistedly, blood flowing freely from his mortal wounds. "Stop fighting like children..." He said, grabbing the blades that had wounded him, and wrenching them from his body, cutting his hands as he did so.

He fell to his knees, pain driving him there. His blood soaked the sand black like the night around them. "I don't care what..." He began, grimacing in pain. "...pasts you've shared. But as parts of my life, this pointless anger is unacceptable." He said, clenching the deep wound that was in his stomach. His arm on the cleaved side of his collarbone dangled uselessly. "...Kill me before you continue, or put your... _stupidity _aside." He said, as he fell to all fours, offering himself up to either be removed from this world. He felt their magic coursing through his veins, burning as if he had drank acid. They had been pumping their magic through their blade, in attempt to finish the other off in a single blow if they struck. And suffering this sort of subtle attack was killing Dark slowly.

Julane looked to the Sheikah on the opposite side of Dark. "Have you really saved his life?" She asked, trying to keep the venom in her voice deep within her and out of sight. "Are you really his sister?" Sheik asked. They stood staring at each other, barely able to make out the other in the thick darkness. "Yes." They spoke in unison. "He means a lot to you, huh?" Sheik asked and Julane nodded. Julane peered at her. "He really likes you... after all, he kissed you, didn't he?" She asked, seeming hurt. Sheik nodded slowly. "Yes..." She said.

Dark groaned. "Nice to know that we're coming to terms that you both matter to me..." He moaned, and coughed in a wretched way. "...but I'm dying, would you mind helping me out?" He asked, and they both dropped to their knees, remembering that they had badly wounded him. Rolling him over, they removed his tunic and began working on patching him up. "Do you know any healing arts?" Sheik asked Julane without a twinge of emotion. Julane had begun to pant heavily, seeing what she had done.

"Relax. If you lose your concentration, he will die. If you focus, he'll live." She said, and Julane nodded. "Uh, yeah... I know a certain spell my mother taught me in case of emergencies." She said, and Sheik nodded. "Excellent, because I've been trained primarily to fight, along with a few support spells. But I've never been taught to heal. What's the spell called?" Sheik asked. Julane seemed to forget for a moment, but then recalled.

"It was called Din's Reawakening." She said, and Sheik's eyes widened. "Have you used it before?" She asked, and Julane shook her head. "Well, not outside of the practice I had undergone to know how to use it. I never actually used it on a person though." She said, and Sheik nodded. "Well, that's by far one of the most powerful healing spells known. It's said only descendants of Din herself can use it, as it rekindles and even relights the fire that Din lit in humankind. That you can even practice it is surprising enough. Does anyone else know?" She asked, and Dark's voice became labored. He was nearing his end.

"No, my mother told me to never reveal that I knew it unless it was utterly necessary." Julane said, and Sheik looked at her oddly. "Well, it might be she wanted to keep it a secret, because Ganondorf would most likely take you as his personal Sorceror. You probably have amazing innate ability as a mage." Dark's groans quickly changed the topic though. "... But now Dark is nearing the end of his life. Use it." Sheik said, and Julane nodded.

She held her hands out over Dark's chest, and began whispering incantations to herself, and magic energy began weaving around her and dark, and a light erupted forth from both her and his chest. Dark looked up, seeing the rivets of magic flowing through the air, as his vision narrowed and his body numbed. This was it, he supposed. They weren't able to heal him before he died. How sad, his tale would end here... soon his vision became entirely dark and he felt nothing any longer. Thought, sound and every single of his senses subsided.

The silence overwhelmed him. The voices, the heat in his chest... it was all gone. Quiet, lonely... yet it was infinitely soothing. The silence he had always known was roaring with voices and screams of terror. It was entirely silent now.

_Is this death? _Dark thought to himself. He questioned the fact of whether he would be able to think while dead. "Yes, you're dead." A soft voice said. _Who is that? _Dark asked to the darkness. "The Keeper." A voice said, and the man's voice chuckled. "And you're dead." The bodyless voice stated. _Dead? Figures. _Dark thought, somewhat disappointed. "I like the keen disapproval in your voice, son. You're not going to stay dead." The Keeper said, and Dark felt an explosion from within his chest, and the light brought forth the shadow of his body.

The fire didn't burn, but began a twinge of feeling in his body. "What the hell?" Dark asked, running his shadow-like hands through the fire. "It's called Din's Reawakening. It appears your friends are close to the Goddesses. They seem to have taken a liking to you. I'll see you later, boy. Your meeting with me isn't until a little while longer." The Keeper said, as Dark erupted into complete fire.

Dark felt his entire body burning, and was thrust back into the realm of sensation. Every sensation possible flooded his senses, and it sent his body flailing in throes of pain. Julane had finished the incantation for the spell, and Dark had erupted into flame. Sheik had jumped back, because the intensity of the flame was far beyond her ability to withstand. Dark was flailing and shouting in what seemed to be agony, but the roaring flames consumed any sound nearby. The entire valley besides the desert collosus had been illuminated, and it felt as if the sand itself was shaking from the small inferno that Julane had ignited.

How she was able to use magic of this calibur was unknown to Sheik. Squinting into the flames that had consumed the two, she recalled the quality of magic that had been used moments ago, which was of average skill. This was far beyond that... this was easily only magic Gale would be able to use.

But eventually the inferno subsided, and Dark lay there panting heavily, Julane besides him on all four, panting for breath. Dark fell asleep almost immediately after he calmed down. Julane struggled to her feet. "All done... saved him." She said, with a quirky smile on her face. Sheik walked up to her and pat her on the shoulder. "You're tired, and he's out cold..." Sheik said, dragging Dark towards the wall of the desert collosus, where she leaned him up against.

Julane sat besides her brother she managed to claim from the clutches of death. She was worried about something though, as she sat besides him. She had once used this same spell in secret on a pet that she had lost to illness in distraught sadness. Once her pet cat had been brought back to life, he had no knowledge of who she was, and ran off as if she was a stranger. Whether Dark would awake realizing who they were was a terrible possibility. She refused to fall asleep though, still weary of the Sheikah.

She felt herself nodding asleep as the time flowed as slow as sand trickled over the dunes. "You can sleep, you should be tired from such a powerful spell." Sheik said cooly, looking straight into the darkness. Julane was silent. She was tired, but she was afraid to sleep with a person who had betrayed her kind before. "Nothing will happen to you, don't worry. Harming you means harming Dark's opinion of me. If you want to look at it from the worst possible angle, you can assume I'll leave you be for my own selfish purposes, because I know you won't believe I won't harm you out of the kindness of my heart." She said, and Julane thought about it. It was true. If she wanted to stay in good graces with Dark she wouldn't dare attack.

Although it wasn't the best reasoning, it was reasoning nonetheless. She felt herself drifting off to sleep, and the darkness of slumber overcame her. Sheik looked at the two. Things were becoming more and more difficult. She watched the Gerudo drift off to sleep and cling to Dark as if he would disappear. Sheik thought back to her own agenda. She wasn't sent after Dark for her own feelings of emotion... that was actually her first action.

She thought back to the kiss in the darkness and felt her face heat up. But her real reason for coming to get him was to bring him back to the Sheikah settlement. Gale wanted to speak with him. Gale's exact words were; "The eyes of others can only say so much about this young shadow. I need to hear and understand this one to know if he's truly right for our cause."

Those words caused Sheik worry. Specially seeing as plans involving Dark had been set into motion far before Gale had sanctioned Dark's worth. Sheik lowered her mask and bit her thumb. The Goddesses had their stakes in Hyrule now. Not only did they have the two bearers of the Triforce on their side... but they had a contingency plan in mind in case all else failed.

Only recently had Sheik revealed the Goddesses back-up plan to Gale. In a dream, the three Goddesses stood before her and gave her a simple mission. To deliver a necklace to Dark Link. When she had awoken from the dream, she had found a black triangle on a thin silver chain in her hand. She inspected it herself, fearing something from this simple charm. True to her own fears, the necklace embodied some form of deeper, slumbering power. He considered destroying it, but realized doing so would probably provoke a heavenly wrath.

So she obeyed, delivering it quietly to Dark as she watched over him, ensuring the Goddesses' plan would succeed. They wanted him to bear that necklace for some peculiar reason. Having spoken to Gale, he became deathly grave about the subject and demanded that she bring him to her as soon as possible.

Now she sat before him, brother and sister close together while they slept off fatigue stronger than their spirits could withstand. She grew fearful for what her love could become the vessel of... what she was even more fearful of was of what Gale would decide of Dark and the burden he was secretly bearing.

She nodded off as well, feeling envious of Julane. Sheik wanted to hold Dark while she fell asleep. For too many nights she had been accustomed to being alone every dark night.

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**A/N: Sorry about not posting new chapters every now and then. Honestly, I know you guys love this story, and I've been neglecting it. I'll try and keep up on it, and you guys keep on showing your love through favorites, alerts and my personal favorite; reviews. Stay tuned for another chapter tomorrow. ;D**


	13. It's Never Goodbye

The morning rays struck Sheik's face as they began to peer over the high dunes of the colossus. Looking quickly to where Dark and Julane lay, she was relieved to see they hadn't moved from where they had settled for sleep. Looking to the slowly rising sun, she decided now would be a good time to wake Dark and leave before his sister realized. Nothing against the Gerudo, but where she was going to bring Dark, no Gerudo could ever follow.

She lowered her body close to the sands of the desert, crawling towards Dark, who lay on his side facing her, back to the stone of the colossus. Julane was draped over his hip, her head against his side. Nudging Dark with a soft hand, his eyes slowly opened. With a slight grumble, he blinked at Sheik and then closed them again. With a devilish smirk, she moved closer towards him, lowering the mask she wore and quickly placing a kiss on his lips. His eyes shot open quickly and then narrowed at her.

"That wasn't fair." Dark hissed, as he lifted his sister off of him, laying her softly on the sand. "I still haven't seen your face... that night, it was really dark. You ought to let it down and let me see more." He whispered to her, leaning in and feeling mischievous. She quickly crawled backwards, away from him as she leaned back onto her rear as she held out a hand to stop his pursuit while he leaned ever closer to her. "It's a Sheikah tradition that women keep their face hidden. In our culture, true beauty lies in our art of battle and is how we attract others." She said with a visible smile. Dark frowned as their eyes locked painfully for a few moments.

"How very lame." Dark said, relieving Sheik of his body weight against her outstretched arm. She shrugged, playing with a lock of his bright blonde hair. "Tradition is tradition." She said, smiling at him in a way that Dark considered desirable. He was feeling his inner evil surging... but in a less murderous way. With a devilish smile, he began to lean towards Sheik again. "What's it take to remove that silly little mask of yours?" He asked. She let him in close, as he began to nibble on her neck which caused her heart to jump.

"Marriage." She hissed as he bit fairly hard on her neck. He stopped and leaned back. "Marriage?" He asked, and she nodded as she sat on crossed legs. "Oh, well. How steep." He said, scratching the back of his head as a highly awkward silence propagated itself over their conversation and the early desert morning. Sheik cleared her throat and began to speak again. "Well... I need to tell you what I originally came here for." She said, her voice becoming slightly stern.

Dark paused, his pointed ears twitching. "Alright..." He said, as he pounded an open palm into the sand, causing a small explosion of dark energy to erupt from the sands a few meters away, behind Sheik. Dissipating into dark particles, he reappeared where the explosion had sounded, and reached into a quickly filling hole of sand. Reaching out, he returned to his seat triumphantly with a hunk of desert monster meat.

"Go on." He said, peeling some flesh from the hunk of meat and popping it into his mouth with a smile. Sheik cringed. "Did I really kiss you last night? I'm afraid now..." She said, fearing what he might've eaten prior. He smiled like a little kid who had successfully pulled off a good prank. "Anyways..." Sheik began, "...I was sent to retrieve you because the Grand Elder of the Sheikahs want to speak with you." She said, and Dark continued gnawing on the meat. "Why?" He asked, and Sheik frowned. "I'm not sure, but he said it was paramount to our cause if he met you and deemed you right for the cause." She said, which caused Dark's eyes to narrow once more.

"Right for... what cause? My own? I'm not working for anyone but myself." He said, sounding highly disdainful of being in anyone else's service. He had spent half his life enslaved by others, he wasn't in anyone's cause but his own. Whether people benefitted, was pure coincidence. "Don't look so surly." She said, nudging his shoulder. "Our Grand Elder has always had an odd way about doing things, but he's never harmed a soul." She said, her eyes filled with uncertainty. Dark growled to himself. "How long will this take? Link's taken the last medallion, and I fell asleep after being resurrected. I need to keep up on him." He said, and Sheik ran circles with her fingers in the sand.

"It probably won't take long. The time in the Sage's realm is different than ours, so for all we know, he's said a sentence to the Sages and it's been a day here." She said, and Dark nodded. "Fine, then I'll follow you to this Grand Elder." He said, and he heard a grunt from behind him. "Requaem?" A soft voice called, and Dark turned around. "Go back to sleep." He said, and that caused her to sit up. "Why?" She asked, rubbing her eyes. Dark sighed. "Because I have to go somewhere you probably can't follow." He said, and she squinted at him. "I can follow you where ever I want." She said, and Dark grimmaced.

"Like the Sheikah's hidden settlement?" He asked, and she was silent. Sheik spoke for him now. "They'd likely kill you the moment you even entered the outer perimeter of the settlement without question." Sheik said, and Julane stood up. "I don't care, I'm following my brother. I'm not losing him again." She stated firmly. Sheik snarled at her. "Are you stupid? Do you want to die and leave him alone instead of risking losing him?" She asked, and Julane was silent.

'How will I know you're fine?" Julane asked Dark. Dark smiled weakly. She was such a pain. He gripped his chest, and forcibly pulled on some sort of resisting force. With a groan and a ripping sound, a black ball of swirling, pulsating energy floated above his hand. It beat very slowly, but beat nonetheless. "This is a piece of my core, what I am as a Shadowborn. As long as it beats, I'm alive." He said, breathing heavily. Ripping that from within himself was a painful task, but was the only way to prove to her that he was still alive.

"It's almost like the equivalent of a human heart. Except I dont need all of mine. Take care of it." He said with a smirk as he placed it in her hand and turned away from her, whistling for his horse. "I'm going to bring Julane back to her home, where she's going to be escorted to a safe place. Can you make it back on your own, Sheik?" He asked, and she nodded. "A sheikah without the ability to travel by shadow is a useless one." She said, stepping backwards into a rip of darkness that closed up once she entered it.

Turning forward, Maelstrom was standing before him. _You called? _He asked, and Dark nodded. "Yep, need to go back home now." He said, and Maelstrom snorted in acknowledgement. "C'mon, sis." He said, mounting the horse. She was still sore over what had recently happened. She had seen him kiss her race's mortal enemy, and then planned to fraternize with the Sheikah in their hidden settlement. It all reeked of something bad to her. But in her hands was the pulsating core of her brother. At least she'd know if something went wrong. Knowing was better than worrying, she decided. Placing it in her vest pocket, it did a slightly disturbing thing; it fused with her chest and disappeared within her. She could feel the beating of his heart besides her own, which was slightly unnerving.

"Hey, you in there, airhead?" He teased, becoming impatient. She nodded, and rushed to the horse, being pulled atop the saddle. With speed expected of a shadow creature, they shot off. Julane ignored the surroundings as she held onto her brother while they navigated the desert. Worry overwhelmed Julane while they rode, all the way up until Maelstrom stopped and Dark dismounted. He held a hand out towards Julane, who was still lost in her thoughts.

"Time for us to say goodbye." Dark said solemnly. Julane frowned when he said this, and took his hand with a smile. "No, time for us to say, 'See you later.'" She said, dismounting. "I guess so. See you later, sis." Dark said, as he remounted his horse, looking to his mother and the two guards that were to accompany his mother Reseray and sister Julane to a hiding place where Ganon wouldn't find them after learning of Dark's survival. Surely he'd use them as tools to regaining control of Dark, his pawn.

"I'll be back once this is all over. I have one more stop before I'm going for Ganon himself." Dark said, softly. His mother nodded, and sister looked concerned. "Don't get killed, ok?" She asked, and Dark smirked. "I'll try my best not to." He said, as he paused for a moment before he left. "See you all later." Dark added, as he shot off. Once he was safely out of the Gerudo settlement, he felt arms around his waist.

"Hello there." A voice said, startling Dark. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Sheik close to him, her hands straying. "Cut that out, I'm trying to steer!" He said, his face turning red. She giggled, and leaped off of the horse, running alongside them. "Impressive." He said with a smirk as he watched her run at high speeds alongside them as they manuevered the fields. Eventually, she ran ahead of Maelstrom, and slashed quickly at the air with a knife, causing a silver rip in the space around where she slashed.

Suddenly, the unsuspecting travellers were swallowed by the rip in space. They found themselves within a deeply wooded forest of long, slender trees. None of them bore leaves, a think mist weaving between bare branches and floating gently above the thin blades of grass that rose to ankle height. Sheik pointed to Maelstrom. "You'll have to leave him behind. They don't allow steeds in the village." She said, and Dark looked to Maelstrom. "What do you think about that?" Dark asked. _It doesn't trouble me. _He said, as he dissolved into a fine black mist and formed a pair of onyx colored steel gauntlets over Dark's fists. On them, they bore a simple horse's profile on the back of the fist.

"Well, that's really handy. Can I hit things harder now?" He asked his gauntlets. _Yes. You can punch as hard as a horse would come down on a foe. _Maelstrom said, and Dark smiled. "Neat-o. Can I...?" He began asking himself, as he took a hold of Sheik's waist and effortlessly lifted her from the ground. "Sweet, I can do that too!" He said, as he was cut off my a swift right hook from Sheik.

"Nice hit, cutie." He said with a smile, spitting a little blood from a cut she had caused on the inside of his lips. "_NEVER, _pick me up like that again." She said, and Dark giggled madly. "If you say so. Lead the way." He added, with a swift pat on Sheik's ass. Jumping, she swung around, throwing another punch. "Hah! Miss-" And then he was caught in the mouth by a straight jab. "Sonuvabitch!" Dark exclaimed, as he held his mouth, more blood leaking from his mouth.

Looking up though, her face was as red as his blood. He smiled stupidly, teeth stained slightly red from the dilluted blood. "Can I have a kiss to make it better?" He asked cutely, sidling up towards her. "No." She said cruelly. Dark cringed. "Ouch, ruthless." He said, as she began walking through the leafless woods.

"So, how much longer?" Dark asked, as they walked for a good ten minutes through the seemingly endless forest. "Not much longer." She said, and Dark grew bored. His eyes were wandering, and he was somewhat confused as to these peculiar instincts of his that he had. They were akin to killing, but the concept of what odd things came to mind as a result of looking over Sheik brought a sense of anticipation far greater than that of a kill. His eyes wandered over the curves her ninja suit accentuated, all the way up to the nape of her neck, that his teeth ached to bite.

He shook these thoughts from his mind as Sheik turned around and glanced at him. "What?" She asked, and Dark smirked sheepishly. "Oh, nothing." He said with another of his stupid smiles.

Suddenly a black blur lunged at Sheik and Dark. Dark instinctively dissolved into a black mist, reforming after his attacker passed through him. Sheik on the other hand, wasn't as lucky. Her attacker clashed with the katana she managed to draw, and another attacker struck from behind, putting her into a headlock and throwing her to the ground. A third attacker appeared and held his katana at her throat. "Do not move, traitor!" He exclaimed through the veil that fell from the conical straw hat that he wore on his head. The veil bore the crying eye sigil of the Sheikah tribe, and they all wore thick cloaks around them.

"Get the hell away from her." Dark demanded, and the three men look at him through their veils and laughed at him. "You're not one to make demands, Shadowborn, pawn of Ganon!" The man with his blade at Sheik's throat said. "When I'm through with your men, I'm going to kill you." Dark said, as the man who dove through him and tumbled away charged him from behind. With great swiftness, he threw an elbow backwards with a face of fierce determination. With a deafening crunch, the young Sheikah was lifted off his feet. The amount of force was so great, the Sheikah that were watching were convinced he had knocked the spirit out of him.

"Get him." The Sheikah with the blade to Sheik's throat demanded. Of the three men that were holding down Sheik, only one remained to hold down Sheik. Two men stood before Dark, drawing blades. Dark smiled twistedly. "Finally... I've been dying to draw some blood. The darkness inside me has been crying out for this." He said, as he held his head back and howled.

While he howled, they charged him simultaneously, hoping to catch him off guard and defeat him there. With each gauntlet, he caught the blades. Throwing them aside, he smiled. "Let's make this a battle between men." He said, taking a fighter's stance, dancing back and forth on the tips of his feet. The two Sheikah looked to him, and one began to laugh. With a quick dash, Dark threw a volley of jabs to the ribs and then an uppercut which sent the Sheikah flying backwards.

"C'mon, don't make me kill you. I want to have fun." Dark said, and the Sheikah who he had struck charged at him, launching a flying kick, which caught Dark in the chin. "Better!" Dark shouted, as he threw a harder hook which sent blood spraying into the air as the fist collided with and dislocated the Sheikah's jaw. The other Sheikah looked to his fallen comrades and reached into his cloak and retrieved a scroll.

Quickly placing his fingertips to the scroll, a bright flame began to emanate from the tips he touched to the parchment. "Burn!" He shouted, and Dark's eyes widened. Of course, in desperation, his foes would always resort to his weakness. With a thrust of his palm, a torrent of flames cascaded towards Dark.

Focusing power in his fists, he threw a punch forward, cutting through the wave of magic with a wave of his own magic, which effectively swallowed up and cancelled the Sheikah's magic. Rushing through the quickly closing opening and bursting through the flames, he took a hold of the man's head through the helmet and drove a knee into his face. "Only two mooooore!" Dark said in a sing-song voice, as he strode towards the last two. His stride picked up speed, and with a swift kick, sent the man holding down Sheik.

Drawing his blade from the sheath at his waist, he swung at the man who held the blade at Sheik's throat. He barely managed to pick up his blade fast enough to stop Dark's, who swung again, causing the man to take the defensive and relinquish Sheik. She got up quickly and began readying throwing needles to support Dark.

"That's enough." A wispy voice said plainly, as a light hand grazed Dark's shoulder. Dark looked to the voice, and saw a man with long white hair and misted eyes looking towards him. He looked young, although his aura felt older than anything Dark had ever experienced. "Congratulations on passing the first trial." He said, and Dark sheathed his sword.

"Are you Gale, the Grand Elder?" Dark asked, as Sheik took her place besides Dark. Gale nodded. "And you orchestrated this little welcome party?" Dark asked again. Gale nodded again silently. With all of the force in his body, Dark slapped him across the face. Immediately, six men had blades pressed against Dark's neck. "As you command, Grand Elder." He said, and Gale smiled softly.

"There's no need. He was entirely within rights. A rude slap for a rude welcome. I'm actually very pleased that he has such strong spirit." Gale said with a smile. "You chose a very suitable person, Sheik." He said with a smile, and she lowered her eyes. Dark was confused. "What?" He asked, and Gale smiled wider. "Nothing, child. Sheik is a close friend of mine, that's all." He said with a smile. "Healers, please tend to the young Sheikah that our guest dispatched." He said softly, his voice as brittle as the branches swaying in the wind.

"Sheik, Dark, follow me to the Sacred Grove." He said, as he turned and began walking. Dark looked to Sheik. "Did I tell him my name?" Dark asked, and Sheik shook her head. "No, but I did." She said, as they followed the billowing robe of the white haired man leading them. Eventually, they were lead through a village, filled with buildings very unusual to the typical Hylian stone buildings and more akin to the wooden homes of the Kokiri. But these homes were made of planks of pliable woods, creating a very unique style of building.

The village is filled with women and men all wearing masks that cover their face, the only people without masks appearing to be married or widowed. Following Gale led them to a large building with a gate of sorts built into it. Entering the gate lead to a strange thing. The woods within this area with filled with trees filled with thick leaves. A single pagoda building sat at the far end of a clearing, and there was an amazing flower garden in the middle.

"Zelda, could you come out?" Gale called out, and from through the front sliding doors of the pagoda, came the Princess of Hyrule, walking out into the middle of the clearing, wearing traditional Princess attire. Dark paused. "Wait." He said aloud, looking towards Sheik, and then to Zelda. "You're not Zelda?"

Dark chuckled nervously as Sheik's eyes narrowed. "Were you hoping I was?" She asked, and Dark remained quiet. "Uhh... oops?" He said, and he could feel the heat of Sheik's crimson eyes boring into his head. He was in trouble.

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**A/N: A little later than I intended to post this, but true to my word, I posted another chapter. :3 Enjoy, review, and tune in tomorrow night for the next installment in Dark's journey. :D**


	14. Oops?

"What do you mean, 'oops"?" Sheik demanded, her voice quickly becoming angry. Dark's face became fearful as she quickly grabbed a hold of his wrist, twisting it behind his back and causing him to bend backwards in submission from the resulting pain. "Ow, shit! That hurts, stop!" Dark exclaimed, wincing as she pumped magic into him while she twisted his arm.

"Tell me, do you mean 'oops' as in the fact that you only said those things and kissed me, thinking I was Zelda?" She demanded, and Dark was in a very uncomfortable position. His brain said yes, that was his intent the entire time... yet his chest was burning and he wanted to shout no instead. Zelda, who was approaching the group overheard this. "Sheik? You're in a relationship with someone?" She asked, giggling. She didn't expect her sarcastic, caustic friend to ever be willing enough to open up to another person. But upon seeing who she was inflicting pain on, she understood. Sheik had told her alot about this "Dark Link" person. Zelda herself was interested in meeting him, actually.

"Not now, Princess." Sheik said with a tone of venom, causing the princess to look at her somewhat shocked. "You had a bet with Link over who'd win Zelda, didn't you? That was the reason why you let that night happen, didn't you?!" She demanded, twisting his arm some more and pumping even more lethal magic into his body. He ground his teeth, and Zelda's face turned red. "Sheik! What impure things are you speaking of?" She asked, misunderstanding Sheik's words.

"No, it's not like that, you idiot!" Sheik exclaimed, her face turning red. "Answer me!" Sheik shouted, turning her anger back to Dark. "Fine, fine! It was only _one _of the reasons, damnit!" He exclaimed, and he regret it before he even finished his sentence. Quickly her hands that were clenched around his arm grasped his scalp through the hat and with a motion swifter than Dark expected, his face was slammed into the ground. He began to lift his face, covered in dirt, and a heel was driven into his head, cramming his face deeper into the fertile soil.

"Sheik!" Zelda called, as the angry ninja strode off angrily into the woods surrounding the clearing. Gale smiled almost distantly, as if nothing had happened. "Don't worry. She's too attached to stay away." He said, causing Zelda to look inquisitively at Dark, who's face was a few inches deep into the ground. Crouching before him, she tapped his black hat. "Mrrmmffmrmrf?" Dark asked, and Zelda smiled awkwardly. "If that's 'Is the coast clear?', then yes." She said with a short giggle.

Dark lifted his face from the ground, visage covered in soil. "What a way to meet a princess, face covered in dirt." He said with a cough, coughing up some assorted grass and dirt. She smiled, and began brushing off the soil from his face. "Don't worry about it." Dark said flatly, nudging her hand from his face. He glared at the Princess, and she looked at him somewhat fearfully. "Don't be angry at me, it's your fault you that she was I." She said reproachfully.

Dark stood up. "She mislead me! How was I supposed to know?" He asked. Zelda smiled. "You weren't. No one was. Sheik was supposed to be the decoy to keep Ganon's prying eyes from places I might've been. It had worked wonderfully the entire time." She said, and Dark seemed not to be listening. His eyes had ventured off to where Sheik had run off. "So... what happened that night?" She asked, and Dark's red eyes looked to her, between glare and indifference. "If you don't mind me asking!" Zelda exclaimed, holding her hands out as if to stop him from telling her if he didn't want to.

"Nah... it wasn't that big of a deal, I guess." He said, scratching his head. "It was at night, and she said something about loving me. I don't know exactly what love is supposed to be... but she kissed me and I felt some crazy feeling in my chest." He said, looking away from Zelda and Gale. Gale's face remained plain, with his everpresent smile. Zelda smiled sweetly. "Do you think that feeling came from thinking you were kissing me?" She asked slowly, and Dark shrugged. "I don't know." He said, and Zelda positioned herself in front of Dark's vision.

"Would you like to find out?" She asked, her face becoming slightly red as she winked at him. Gale coughed. "How scandalous... I'm going to go ready some tea." He said out loud, as he quickly skittered across the clearing and into the pagoda. Dark followed the peculiar Elder as he entered the pagoda and as he opened the sliding door, he gave Dark a thumbs up and mouthed the words _"Go for it!"_Dark's jaw dropped as the man slid the door near closed, but slightly ajar. Dark imagined that he was peeking out at them from the small dark crack he had left.

Zelda cleared her throat, leaning on her side, her legs outstretched. "So?" She asked, looking to Dark. Dark was stricken. He had seem images of Zelda in Link's head before, but the memories paled in comparison to the real thing. She was the image of beauty, and Dark's eyes wandered down the drooping neckline and he felt a surging heat not this time in his chest, but... lower.

Her lips seemed so soft, so lush... She began leaning inwards, towards Dark, her mouth slightly ajar. It had been so long since she had been around another male... and he looked so much like Link. But he was different, he seemed far more dangerous. That aspect of danger made Zelda shiver with delight. Dark knew he shouldn't, that he was already bound to another... not only by the unseen binding of what was 'love', but he had a Soul Oath to her as well.

But the darkness inside him was winning. He wanted to take this girl and taste her flesh, while keeping her alive to see her shake as he did things that even he thought were wrong. She leaned in ever closer, her breath on Dark's lips. The voices were whispering in his ears, telling him to do it. _Damn it! _Dark thought, as he threw himself backwards. "Lady, you must be all pent up from the last seven years alone in here, but _really. _Don't do something we'll both regret." He said as he spoke from the ground. Zelda crawled over him and laid on top of him. "Oh, _trust me. _I won't regret this." She said, breathing heavily. This was making Dark feel all sorts of uncomfortable. Quickly, he dissolved into a dark mist and reassembled himself elsewhere. "Goddesses woman! Learn to please yourself or something!" He exclaimed, and suddenly he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Tea's ready." Gale said in a sing-song voice, making Dark jump. "Care to join me, _alone_, Dark?" He asked, and Dark nodded quickly. The two entered the pagoda, and Zelda lay in the grass, flustered and unsatisfied. Sliding the door shut, Gale pat Dark on the shoulder. "You're a good man, for a devil." He said with a smirk. "If I were younger, the things I'd have done in the grass with her..." He said, smiling pervertedly. "You humans really are disgusting." Dark said. "And how old are you? You look thirty." Dark said, and Gale smiled. "In a few months, I'll be turning the big 1000." He said, a lopsided grin on his face as he grabbed a cane from a rack nearby to aid his walking.

Dark stared at him. "One thousand?" He asked, and Gale nodded. "Yes. I'm really actually dead, but don't let anyone know." He said with a chuckle. "Wait, what? What the fuck?" Dark asked, completely confused. Gale scoffed at him. "I kid. I'll be turning thirty six this fall." He said. "...But, according to Sheik, you're the founder of the Sheikah race." Dark said tentatively.

"Oh darn it. Sheik ruined my fun." Gale said, stroking his chin as he led Dark into a secluded room where a tea pot sat over a tame flame. "So you're actually dead?" Dark asked. Gale nodded. "I died about three hundred years ago. But the Sheikah who had been with me decided I was too useful an asset to let die. So they bound my spirit to this land, a limbo between the Shadow Realm and the Light Realm. Here, we have a fondness of calling this place the Realm of Dusk. The sun's always just barely over the horizon here." He said with a smile.

"But everything's covered in fog and mist." Dark said, as Gale poured him some tea. "Oh yes, that. That was an illusion I wove. Being bound to the land gives me free reign over the land, and my appearance as the land remembers me. But I can't leave. It's alright though, I have a large family." He said with a soft smile. Dark nodded slowly. "So, the trees?" He asked, and Gale's smile grew a little. "Yes, they're quite full. You'll have to take a look again, it's actually quite beautiful." Gale said.

There was a silence, and the two small cups were filled with a steaming sweet smelling liquid. Gale reached out and lit a few sticks that let off an even sweeter smelling smoke. "So... you wanted to speak with me?" Dark asked, smelling the small cup of liquid. "Yes, I did. As you might well know, we're the Sheikahs, the clan of ninjas who serve the Royal Family as body guards. Ganondorf stole the Triforce of Power from the Sacred Realm when Link acquired the Master Sword, the Sword of Evil's Bane, to strike Ganon down with." Gale began. Dark knew story time was upon him, so he sipped the liquid. Surprisingly, it was rather soothing.

"So, when Impa brought the young Zelda here bearing the news that Ganondorf had taken over the castle, slain the king and his men, and was seeking Zelda for the Triforce she bore. So we came up with the plot to train a single Sheikah to go out and help the Hero of Time. Of course, the outcast of our clan, a Sheikah who hated her own kind, rose to the occasion. Her parents had died before she was old enough to even remember her own name. So she was simply named Sheik, a shorter version of our race's name. Since then, she's been keeping Ganon's eyes from the Realm of Dusk and fighting off his servants that sought her as he thought she was Zelda." Gale said eloquently between breaths.

"Most recently, a new knight raised his blade for our cause, regardless of reason. That would be you, Dark Link. Or, as your Gerudo family know you as, Requaem." He said. Dark frowned. "Just call me Dark. I haven't even begun to earn my name." He said. Gale smiled. "You will." He said, and Dark shrugged. Gale then sipped his tea. "I wish to know a little more about you. You were crafted by Ganon, from the evils that the Hero of Time cast off when he drew the Master Sword." Gale said. Dark looked down. "Not much to say. I'm a monster pretending to be human." He said with a twisted smile.

"Is that as to say you wish you were human?" Gale asked. Dark shrugged. "I don't know. I just know I'm sick of having these voices in my head, always telling me to do the evil things. I know I want to, that I should... but I don't. I'm fighting my nature. All because there are people around me that I want to accept me. And I know they won't accept me if I follow my bloody instincts." Dark said, sipping deeper from his tea glass.

"So, there are voices in your head? What exactly do they say? Can you hear them?" Gale asked. The dim room enhanced Dark's focus, and he nodded. "Yes, I can hear them." He said, his eyes losing focus on the ground in front of him as he lost himself in his mind. "What are they telling you?" Gale asked. Dark was silent for a while. "To kill you. To rip your tongue out. The voices tell me to plunge my hands into your stomach and revel in the warmth of human weakness." He said, and Gale nodded. "Are these your instincts?" He asked, and Dark shook his head. "They can't be... they don't sound like me. I think that they're Ganon's voices, trying to make me go insane. To just kill everything that opposes him. I'm tired of pain and suffering. I've felt enough of it for this lifetime." Dark said, and Gale nodded.

"That's excellent. You've passed the second trial. Your resolve is impressive." He said, and Dark glared at him, sharp eyes of crimson boring into the elder. "Why is this all some sort of game to you?" Dark snarled. Gale smiled at him. "Relax, child. I test you because if you were truly harboring an unstable evil in you, I couldn't let you leave. You'd be a danger to the grand mission; destroying Ganon and restoring peace." Gale said. Dark looked back to the floor. "Can you hear anything else? Anything deeper than the surface voices?" Gale asked. Dark closed his eyes. He felt odd, as if he was tumbling down into an abyss.

In his mind, he found himself standing before a large gate, built into what seemed an endless expanse of stone. The gate was charred and marked with scars, as if some beast had marred it. But why would they be on the outside? Dark approached the gate, and ran a hand over the marks. They all seemed to start outwards and move inwards. Did something struggle while forced... in? Dark was deep in thought over the marks, until his thoughts were disturbed by a rumbling breathing. _What the hell? _Dark thought to himself as he could feel a heat from behind the door seeping out all of a sudden. The breathing was slow and labored, and eventually he was shaken back to the tea room.

"Dark, are you with me?" Gale asked, concerned. "I heard... breathing." Dark said, looking to Gale. "What happened to me?" Dark asked. Gale frowned. "You fell into a stupor from the medicine that I put into the tea." He said, and Dark looked at him with a look of disgust on his face. "You put some sort of drugs in my drink?" He asked, and Gale nodded. "Yes. It's a common drug we use here all the time while drinking tea. It releases the bonds of the subconscious, allowing you a higher degree of self-awareness." Gale said, somewhat proudly. "Don't _ever _give me that stuff again." He said, clutching his head. No wonder the voices were coming in so clearly all of a sudden.

"But that's troubling... you heard breathing?" Gale asked. Dark nodded. Gale's eyes became stern. "Was it your own?" He asked, and Dark looked at him as if he was stupid. "No, it was coming from behind this giant gate. Gale's eyes narrowed. "How strange..." He said, pausing for a few moments, his eyes wandering, and landing on the necklace Dark had been wearing for a while since he made that Soul Oath with Sheik, so that they'd both live.

"That's a very nice necklace, where'd you attain it?" He asked, pointing to the black triangle that dangled around Dark's neck from a thin chain. Dark looked to it. He had entirely forgotten about it, he barely even noticed it's presence while wearing it, it was like a part of him. "Oh... Sheik saved my life once, and I cast a pact to bind our souls to save her. Our souls being so closely connected, if one dies, the other can keep the dying one alive through pure will. Not only does our souls bind, but so do our fates. We're probably going to always find ourselves running into each other, even if we hated one another and tried our best to avoid the other." He said with a smirk.

Gale nodded. "Sounds like marriage." He said, and Dark looked at him. "I guess you could equate it to that. It's deeper to shadows though, as for a shadow to grow more powerful, it has to consume other shadows. For anything like this to exist between two shadows is very rare. But being more human and being the top of the shadow food chain, I'm a little more suited to using it." He said, showing Gale the mark of the Soul Oath that had been burned into his palm. A small infinity symbol was emblazoned on his palm, a crying eye sigil in one circle of the infinity symbol, a jawless sorrowful skull in the other.

"How curious... do these symbols differ from person to person?" Gale asked. Dark shrugged. "I'd imagine they would, provided they didn't belong to a collective that defined them." He said, and Gale nodded, as a short silence fell over the two. "Think I can take a look at that necklace? I find it's workmanship very unique." He said, and Dark shrugged. "Sure." He said, as he began taking it off.

As he took it off, a strange urge compelled him not to. A dread overcame him, as if he shouldn't take it off. Pausing for a moment, Gale picked up his emotion change. "What's wrong, Dark?" He asked, and Dark shook his head. "Nothing. Here." He said, passing the necklace to Gale. Reaching out with thin slender fingers, Gale grazed the necklace and his mind was suddenly filled with disturbing images, of creatures razing the fields of Hyrule and Dark leading them all towards Castle Town, dressed in devilish raiment and leading a slaughter against the realm, casting spells so fearsome to destroy that even Gale's spirit shook.

Dropping it, he looked to Dark in horror. "Why would she give you such a thing?" He asked, and Dark looked at him confused. "What are you talking about?" Dark asked, picking up the necklace and slinging it around his neck once more. "You can't feel that? The horror that necklace holds? That it's infecting you with?" He asked, and Dark looked at him, now beginning to see him as a madman. "No, I don't." He said. Gale's voice quivered with fear.

"I can't let that take you as a vessel." He said, as he reached for his cane. "What are you people talking about?" Dark asked, and Gale pulled the handle of his cane, unsheathing a hidden blade which he swung at high speed. The blade was moving so fast, Dark had little time to react, but saw the blade that would soon decapitate him. Then, crashing through the sliding door came Sheik, catching Gale's blade at a speed that even drew the attention of Gale. "With respect, I can't permit you to kill him." Sheik said in a voice so forceful, that even Gale felt his spirit shrinking.

Gale held his blade firm, looking to the hand that caught the blade. On the back of Sheik's fist, were three united circles, each bearing a color; green, red and blue. Gale looked sternly at Sheik. "You know what they gave to you to give to this Shadow?" He asked, and she nodded. "Yes, I do... I inspected it the night they gave it to me." She said. Dark was getting angry. "What the hell are you guys talking about?! It's obviously about me, tell me what the fuck is going on!" He shouted, and Gale drew his blade from Sheik's hand.

"The Goddesses visited Sheik in a dream. Gave her a relic, a necklace, to give to you. They then made Sheik their vassal, a soldier given power by the Goddesses and entrusted her to ensure that you'd become their vessel for-" And then Gale was cut off. "No more should be said, Gale." Sheik said, and Dark looked to her, hurt. "No, I deserve to know. What did you do to me?" He asked, grasping Sheik's shoulder and turning her towards him.

"What am I a vessel for? What are the Goddesses using me for?" Dark growled. He was sick of being controlled, he wasn't anyone's pawn anymore. To have a person he cared for to force him back into a life like that... he couldn't forgive. "I can't tell you, Dark. I really can't. If I do, you'll fight it, and it'll just hurt you more than anything. You were chosen because the path you chose completely intersected with the Goddesses' interest. Please, don't worry. Trust me and just keep doing what you believe in. Killing Ganondorf and gaining freedom." She said, and he thought back to the breathing he heard in his head.

They put something inside of him. Some sort of spirit crawled into him through the necklace she had given him. "I can't believe this. I can't believe _you_. I wish it _was_ Zelda I had kissed." He said venomously, as he got up and left the pagoda. Gale looked to Sheik, whose eyes were pained. "Shouldn't you follow him?" He asked, and she shook her head. "He wants to be alone, I'll let him be alone." She said, as he stormed out of the building.

Zelda was tending her flowers as Dark left. "Hey, where are you going?" She asked him as he stormed towards and past her. "Shut up." He barked, and she grabbed his arm. "That's no way to speak to a lady." She said sternly, and Dark scowled at her. "Talk to me. What's the matter?" She asked, and Dark paused. "The Goddesses are using me as an experiment. I have some sort of spirit in me, that snuck in through the necklace Sheik gave me." Dark said, and Zelda frowned.

"I was afraid of that... as a bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom, I can hear what the Goddesses say faintly... I've heard that you're their backup plan in case everything fails, and that spirit in you is their final weapon." She said, with a faint smile. Dark frowned. "That's not assuring." He said, seeming afraid of the necklace he had worn for so long. Zelda placed a hand on his shoulder. "You've done well so far fighting your own demons. If there's anything bad within you, I'm sure you can fight it. But for now, we need you to focus on the big picture." She said, and Dark nodded slowly. "I suppose so... what are we doing?" He asked, and Zelda smiled.

"Well, I'm going to dress as Sheik, and use magic to diguise myself as her. Then we're going to the temple of time, where the Hero should be dropped soon by the Sages. From there, I'm going to reveal myself to Link, and Ganon will capture me-" She said, and Dark stopped her. "Wait, what? You've spent this entire time hiding, to purposely get caught?" He asked, and she nodded.

"Once I'm caught and Link has all the means to reach me, it's better for him to have motivation for the final push." She said, as she cast a spell and became an exact look-a-like of Sheik. "Wow, that's impressive. I can do something similar, but you made that look effortless." Dark said, and Zelda smiled through her face-mask. "Bearing the Triforce of Wisdom gives me superior magic power." She said, leaning on her hips. "So..." She began, looking away from Dark. "Want to kiss me now?" She asked, and Dark was highly tempted. He began to open his mouth, and another voice spoke for him. "No, he doesn't. Still." Sheik said coldly, and Zelda pouted at her. "You're no fun. Can't you share?" She said, winking. Dark's eyes widened. "Yeah, can't we share? You owe me right now for completely betraying my trust." He said, and he was slapped hard.

"Don't be stupid. If anything, you're mine _only._" She said, and Dark looked at her, very irritated. "You know, you keep acting like this, and I'm just gonna leave you." He said, angrily. She smiled wickedly at him, unwrapping her palm. "Can't, we're bound. I looked it up, we're stuck even if we hate each other." She said and she grabbed his ass hard. "This is _mine._" She said viciously, actually bringing a tinge of fear into Dark's eyes. Dark kept his distance from the real Sheik while they left the settlement and headed towards the temple.

* * *

**A/N: Another late night update! Hoo, this one was long. 4.1k words excluding this little A/N of mine. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and if you did, show some love through that handy little review button. A quick shoutout to Knight25; Thanks a bunch for reviewing. Even if they're short reviews, they're still completely appreciated. It's nice to know that people are enjoying the story. :D Keeps the inspiration flowing. Stay tuned tomorrow night for another installment of Rebirth of a Shadow. ;3**


	15. The Last Thing You'll Ever See

The three had left the settlement only a few minutes ago, and Dark had already grown impatient. "Can't we like, teleport or ride my horse there? Do we have to walk?" He whined and Zelda who was walking ahead of him and Sheik, paused for a moment and twirled on a heel. "Why do we need to rush? The Sages are aware of our plans, they can control how long time passes in their realm compared to ours. There's no rush until they know we're in place. So, enjoy the walk. I mean, you're the one who's been trapped for so long, why not stop and enjoy the world?" She asked, and Dark grumbled to himself.

He just wanted to get this over with. He wanted to be truly free. He grasped the black triangle dangling from around his neck with his forefinger and thumb. Was there really something in this simple necklace? And if so, why didn't he feel it? It was worrying, he was entirely unsure of what they had put inside of him. He still felt like himself... the most drastic thing he had experienced was that strange surge in purity in him earlier in the fight against Traysa.

But what was in this necklace that could have possibly frightened that Elder? Dark imagined it couldn't be anything good... that heavy breathing from behind those giant gates he saw in his mind could only mean there's some other spirit growing inside of him. But what exactly was it? It enraged Dark. Would it consume him? The concept that he was just the shell of an egg to be cracked when the wyvern emerged was troubling.

How could she do that to him? He glanced sideways over to Sheik without her noticing. He felt nothing but pure disgust towards her. Her eyes were empty and devoid of emotion, didn't she have any regret for what she had possibly done to him? Dark's eyes were driven earthward. His chest was alit again, not by that fierce passion he had felt for her that night in the dark. Now, the burning was of hatred, of pain, of fear.

The green grass below his feet angered Dark. The carefree life all around him fueled the fire of pure hatred within him. Why was he always being subjected to being used and tortured? Why was it that he had to feel like a human, and then get cast back into the darkness? He placed his hand to his chest, searching for the faint heartbeat that had been growing. It was faint and fading. Dark smiled grimly. Good. He was done with human emotion. Damned sentiments were good for nothing but hurting you.

His hand rested on the pommel of his blade. Given the proper moment, he would strike out at Sheik. He would take the life he had saved. He should've let her die for being weak and protecting him while he was vulnerable. The voices in his head subsided. They didn't need to speak anymore, his mind was back to it's murderous state.

He would rid the world of those damned people who used him. First, it would be Sheik. Once Zelda entered the temple, he'd skewer the betrayer who had stolen his heartbeat. A maniacal grin spread across his face. He would fight the Goddesses. No one is my master, anymore. I'll crush anyone associated with those who plan to capture me again. Dark thought, as a new spring entered his step. He'd kill Sheik, then he'd kill Link before he fought Ganondorf, and then destroy Ganondorf. Finally, he'd lay low the very last person connected to the Goddesses, Zelda. The Goddesses were his enemy, anyone who fought besides them or caught to enslave him were his enemies as well.

He'd gather their power, take their Triforces... he'd break free from the Goddesses. He'd rule this world, transform it into a place where everyone could be free. His smile grew wider and his crimson eyes sparkled defiantly.

Sheik noticed his change in mentality, and looked to him suspiciously. "Are you alright, Dark?" She asked cautiously. He turned to her, smile still on his face, dangerous gleam in his eyes. "I'm wonderful. How are you? Any more plans to betray me?" He asked, in a mock tone of politeness. Sheik frowned at him. "I had to, the Goddesses' demands are the end all, be all." She said, and Dark's smile flattened.

"We'll see. We'll see if that's true, and you'll be the first to know." He said lowly to himself and those words caused Sheik to worry. What was he planning all of a sudden? As she thought this, Zelda's voice floated into her mind. _His mind is being reclaimed by darkness._ Sheik frowned. _How is that possible? Is it the necklace? _She asked, and Zelda's response was flat. _No, it was you._ She said, and Sheik's expression became sad.

_Was what Gale said create that big of an impact on him?_ She asked. _Yes, it was. He has only existed thus far to destroy that which had enslaved him. Now you've taken the light he saw in the world and cast it into darkness. He wants freedom, and the freedom he thought he had in friends and love has been turned to nothing but lies due to the betrayal he feels that you've returned him to slavery through the Goddesses' plan to use him as a backup weapon in case Link fails them. _She said, and Sheik took in these words for a long time before responding.

_I feel like shit._ She said bluntly, and Zelda laughed. _Good. Show him that you do, and that you're going to help him through this and prove that he's wrong in thinking that we're the bad guys trying to cage him again. _She said, and Sheik thought for a few moments silently to herself._ How do I do that? I'm not even used to caring about anyone..._ She said, and Zelda laughed again. _It'll come naturally. When I enter the Temple to talk to Link, that'll be your time to prove to him that he's not being enslaved again._ Zelda finished. Sheik thought for a while to herself.

Poor Dark was being thrown back into turmoil thanks to her. The world that had slowly been built up from nothing around him was thrown to the ground in a pile of ashes. Now was not the place to begin apologizing and making good on what she had done wrong... Zelda was wise, she'd know when was right. Now, she just had to think about what to say until the time was right.

Dark on the other hand, was merely going with the evil flow. As they walked towards the castle, the sun began to fall, and the drawbridge pulled up. Zelda groaned. "Of course, just as we were nearing the castle, night had to fall. Curse my father's automatic drawbridge system." She said, and then was saddened shortly after speaking. "What's the matter, Princess?" Dark asked, half not caring.

"I miss my father." She said, and Dark smiled. "Oh yes, he's got to be dead, right? Probably the first thing Ganon did when he stormed the castle. Zelda's eyes began to water. "He didn't really storm the castle... he waltzed right in." She said, and Sheik was silent.

"Of course Sheik doesn't give a damn about anyone else, so I'll listen to your sob story. I'm sure you've not been able to cry on anyone's shoulder about it yet, huh?" He asked, and Zelda shook her head. "Well, we've got to sunrise. Lay it on me." He said, only being nice to cause Sheik to look like more of a piece of shit than he already saw her as.

"Well..." Zelda began, as the memories flowed back to her. Memories she had suppressed for such a long time. They resurfaced, and with them came silent tears.

Zelda had been sitting on her mother's throne with her father. Her mother had died in childbirth, so she often sat with her father in her mothers chair to try and feel her presence. Today was a bright day, but on the horizon were dark storm clouds. "Zelda, there appears to be a storm coming, so why don't you stay with me on your mother's throne?" He asked her an hour ago.

Although it was boring sitting there with her father as he took care of the Kingdom's affairs, she still enjoyed spending time with him. Nobles, men from far off districts, and dignitaries from the other races all visited him with news of problems and whether they'd receive aid.

After a few hours and the storm was upon them, the King of Thieves, Ganondorf, came through the front doors. Impa had been standing behind the former Queen's throne, and was immediately alerted to his malicious intent. But she couldn't make a move at all, as per the King's rules. She had had the conversation with the King before, and he demanded that if ever attacked, she'd take Zelda and flee. He would buy them time so that Ganondorf wouldn't gain her Triforce.

The treaty was entirely a lie, and both the King and Ganondorf knew that they were still at odds. It was but merely the calm before the storm. And now, the storm had arrived.

"Alastair Harkinian! I come requesting an audience." He said, kneeling before the King and placing a fist to his breast. The King nodded. "You have one, Ganondorf. What is it that you require of this court?" He asked, scratching his long white beard. Ganondorf smiled sickly. "I require your death." He said bluntly, and the guards in the King's throne room immediately surrounded him.

"Don't bother, guards. He can easily kill us all." Alastair said, bringing a smile to Ganondorf's face. "How wise of you to forewarn them." He said with a vicious smile. "Please, if you want a fight, leave my soldiers alone. If it's my kingdom you want, fight me and kill me. Spare the rest." He said, eliciting a slow laugh from Ganondorf. "You'd like that from me, wouldn't you, Alastair?' He asked, and the King nodded, standing, unsheathing a thin longsword from the scabbard on his belt. The handle was plated gold and the blade was unadorned and a bright silver, as if it were giving off light.

Zelda was terrified. Why did her father have to fight? She knew that Ganondorf was an evil man and that he had to be stopped, but this was too much! She didn't want to see this. "The sad part of all of this is that I spare none." He said, as he swung his arm in a circle, conjuring his blade. Alastair's soldiers quickly rushed Ganondorf and with a loud shout, Ganondorf's blade appeared in hand. Twirling in a simple arc, he brought a slash across the chest of all the spearmen around him, cutting through their thick plate armor as if it were made of cloth.

They all fell to their knees, their blood pouring forth. "This wound... isn't enough to fell the proud Royal Family Soldiers!" One of the men said, standing up and readying his spear to charge again. Ganondorf smirked. "I'm fully aware, fool." He said, and the man fell down as soon as Ganondorf had finished speaking. A black fungus had begun growing, clotting around the wound he had inflicted. It spread dangerously, and the soldiers began screaming in pain as the fungus grew on their wound, draining them of their blood until they were entirely encased in a sac of blood-filled mold.

Alastair's brow was knotted with fury. "You fiend! Prepare to die where you stand!" He shouted, as he swung his blade, holding it out towards his foe. Ganondorf laughed cruelly. "Old man, you can't hope to stand against me." He said, and Alastair Harkinian disappeared and reappeared behind Ganondorf, as a large glowing gash appeared on the King of Thief's chest. "Impressive, old man." He said with a smile, as the mark exploded. Zelda was fearful, and wanted to run. As she stood to flee, Impa whispered from around the chair.

"Stay, child. Your father is doing this for a reason. We will escape when the situation is right." She said, and Zelda's eyes watered. "How can you let this happen?" She whispered back to Impa while Ganondorf burst from the white smoke and charged her father. He vanished again, this time two marks appearing on Ganondorf's chest, causing an even larger explosion.

Still, Ganondorf rushed at Alastair, uninjured by the magical blasts of energy. "You can't keep this up!" He roared, charging at him and swinging his broad-bladed sword. Alastair was panting. It was true, he couldn't keep this up. The intensity of his blasts were growing weaker, as well as his speed lowering. Soon, he wouldn't be able to instantaneously move, and Ganondorf's blade would feast on his flesh and spirit. He had heard terrible things about this blade, that it could consume the person's soul that it killed, causing the person to never pass on to the afterlife, only to experience the same death over and over, while the wielder of the blade drained the power from the trapped's eternal soul.

He only used the blade on people he deemed worthwhile, so the souls hidden within were choice, and a large source of his power. It was one of the first weapons he created when he came into power amongst the Gerudo. Alastair's spies had informed him of his steps to stealing the components and forging the hellish blade. He had even managed to steal an item from his Royal Treasury to forge that accursed blade. No matter what, he couldn't allow Zelda to fall by that blade, or the accursed magic it harbored.

Alastair panted, having spent most of his energy trying to evade and put enough power into his blasts to take down Ganondorf. He was just far too powerful. "Fine, you've won." Alastair said, as he cast his blade at Ganondorf's feet. Ganondorf smiled wickedly. "Gooooood. Now enjoy watching me kill your daughter." He said, as he managed to mimic Alastair's trademark flashstep technique. Alastair's eyes widened in fear as he witnessed Ganondorf rush by him slowly, as if the world had slowed down.

With his last bit of power, he flashstepped as well, to get in front of Ganondorf before he reached Zelda. "Ganondorf... you may be powerful... but don't you dare try to imitate my technique and use it against me." He said, inches from Ganondorf's face. With a smile, Alastair spit a mist of blood into Ganondorf's face, Ganondorf's blade sunk deep into his chest, only inches from Zelda's face.

Zelda's face was covered in blood. Her father looked over his shoulder at her with a smile. "Don't worry sweetheart, I'll always be with you." He said, and she lost restraint over the tears she had been holding in. "Impa, take her!" He shouted, as he bearhugged Ganondorf. "What? What are you doing! Let go of me, you idiot!" Ganondorf shouted as Alastair pulled himself closer, disabling him from moving. Alastair was a giant by human standards, and his physical power was enough to keep Ganondorf from moving.

Impa leaped over the throne, grabbing Zelda. She ran quickly, Zelda cradled in her arms. "No, stop it! Go back, save him! Save my father!" She screeched, as Impa leaped upon a soldier's horse. "Hey, what are you-" The soldier began, and Impa threw a poisoned needle at his neck, knocking him out with a sleeping poison. "I can't kill him. Only one man can, and he's still a boy." She said with a shrewd smile, as they rushed out of the castle.

She charged off, escaping the castle with Impa. She struggled against her, but eventually gave in. She knew there was nothing more she could do, it was all done now. Her face was streaked by tears, but she cradled something close to her chest that she had been protecting. The Ocarina of Time, the key to gaining the Master Sword that Link needed. She had stole it from the treasury as the Goddesses had spoken to her in another dream. It was all a matter of steps before Link would avenge her father, and save the world.

As they rushed out, they passed by Link. Looking at him as they passed, she threw the Ocarina into the moat so that he'd find it. That was the last glimpse of him she ever saw, his eyes full of concern for her. Those eyes she'd never forget, and will soon see once again.

Dark yawned. "Well, that sucks. Your father impaled right in front of you." He said, and she looked away from him, trying to ignore the fact he was being completely inconsiderate. "How much longer until the sun rises?" He asked to no one in particular. Zelda looked to the skies. "Probably a few hours..." She said, sounding sad. Dark sighed. "Do you want a hug or something? I'm not dealing with heavy sighs and mopey crap all night." He said with a scowl. Zelda looked to the ground. "...It would be nice..." She said quietly.

"Fine, come here." Dark said grumpily, holding his arms out. Gladly, she leaped into his arms and snuggled against his chest. "Uhhh, I said hug, not attack." He said, trying to pry her off of him. "I swear..." He said, ready to drop an elbow on her head. Sheik growled at him. "She's distressed, and you're the closest thing to the person she cares about. Give her a night to rest on you and stop being an inconsiderate ass." She said, and Dark grumbled.

"Like you're one to talk." He said, as he stopped resisting Zelda as she cuddled against his chest. He placed his hands behind his head, staring at the stars. He could sense the Stalchildren behind him, but they dare not come close. They could sense his evil nearby. Soon, he could tell Zelda was falling asleep. Sheik sat up, legs and arms crossed. She seemed to be contemplating something seriously. Dark didn't care what. He figured he'd go to sleep soon too.

Just as he closed his eyes, Zelda spoke. "Why can't I hear your heartbeat?" Zelda asked. Dark growled. "Shut up, you'll wake up Sheik." There was a slight pause. "She's already asleep." Zelda said. Dark looked to Sheik. It was true, she had been sitting in the same way for over an hour now. "She sleeps like that?" He asked, and Zelda nodded. "So, why can't I hear your heartbeat?" She asked, and Dark sighed.

"Because I'm not human, stupid." He said, and he began to push her off of him. "And get off, I'm not Link for fuck's sake." He growled and she let go. "Why are you so mean?" She asked, looking at him with Sheik's eyes, which made it a lot easier for him to be mean to her. "Why are you so nice? Why can't you leave me alone?" He asked angrily.

Instead of continuing arguing, she placed her head back on his chest. "Because people get sad when they're alone. And you're the saddest person I've ever met." She said, and Dark's anger softened. "Plus, I look like Link." He said, and she smiled. "That's an added bonus to the whole deal." She said. Dark smirked. "You're still an idiot." He said, and she shrugged. "I'm fine with you thinking that." She said. Dark shook his head. "Now shut up so I can go to sleep or I'll dump you in the moat." He said, and she was quiet. "Perfect." He said, as he finally drifted off to sleep.

The drawbridge's chain clanking as it unfurled and lowered the bridge woke all three of them up. "C'mon, let's go. I'm really tired of all this waiting around." He said, as he shoved Zelda off of him, who slept through the drawbridge. She quickly got up when she saw her two companions walking off.

They reached the town circle, which was overflowing with Redeads. "Let me take care of this." Dark said, stepping forward. He wasn't going to let anyone or anything else kill his quarry. Taking in a deep breath, he screeched at the Redead in a tone that was even more bloodcurdling than any scream that had come from the fleshy undead known as Redeads. Zelda and Sheik froze in place, their blood freezing over in their veins. The Redeads all clenched their hands over their ears, unable to deal with the shrill sound.

After a few second of being exposed to the sound, the Redeads exploded from the waist up in a fleshy mess of red goo and skin. Zelda and Sheik were then able to move again once Dark stopped his fiendish scream. They began coughing, as if they had been pulled from the depths of a cold lake.

They both looked to him as if he was some sort of monster. He smiled to the devilishly as he motioned to the path leading to the temple. "Ladies first." He said, and they both walked ahead of him.

"Alright, here's where we part ways. Good luck, you two." She said, waving as she smiled faintly. She was afraid of what Ganondorf would do once he had captured her. But, as a part of the Goddesses' plan, she could only obey. Walking into the temple, she left her fears behind. The real Sheik stood behind, watching her close friend walk into what essentially could be her doom.

Dark, behind her, was unsheathing his blade slowly and as quietly as possible. She wouldn't have time to even feel herself dying. It would be his last gift to her, a gift of love that she betrayed. A quick and painless death. Sheik sighed to herself. Now was the moment of truth. She'd apologize and show him that she wasn't trying to steal her freedom, that she was always fighting for him.

As she turned towards him to apologize, she didn't see anything but a silver gleam.

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**A/N; Wewt, cliffhanger. Enjoy the suspense. ;D **

**Also, sorry about not updating. Had exams and then prom, which more or less caused me to sleep in to 5pm yesterday. XD Stay tuned for what happens next chapter in Rebirth of a Shadow! Show some love and keep the inspiration flowing by pressing and letting me know what you thought about the chapter. ;D  
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